Mega Millions ticket price jumps—Are you ready to pay $5 for a shot at billions?
DES MOINES, Iowa - If you're looking for a chance to win a Mega Millions jackpot, you're going to have to put more skin into the game.
The cost of a Mega Millions ticket will more than double to $5, lottery officials said, adding that there will be larger prizes and more winners.
The price hike will begin in April.
"Spending 5 bucks to become a millionaire or billionaire, that's pretty good," said Joshua Johnston, director of the Washington Lottery and lead director of the group that oversees Mega Millions.
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Mega Millions and its lottery compatriot Powerball are sold in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is sold in Puerto Rico.
Numbers on tickets for the Mega Millions lottery are selected by a purchaser in Los Angeles, California, on August 4, 2023. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Powerball officials said they have no plans to change that game's odds or the $2 price for most tickets.
Mega Millions will introduce changes at a time when fewer people are buying tickets and jackpots need to reach ever-higher figures before sporadic players notice and opt to buy a ticket or two. Whereas a $500 million jackpot once prompted lines out convenience store doors, top prizes of $1 billion now often draw more of a ho-hum response.
Those much-hyped jackpot numbers also could take a hit as interest rates fall. That's because on billboards or other advertisements, state lotteries emphasize the annuity payout for jackpots, distributed over decades from an investment fund. As interest rates have been high, the annuity jackpots have more than doubled the cash prizes that winners nearly always choose.
With an expectation that interest rates will drop, those annuity jackpot figures will decline, so the advertised jackpot won't seem quite so massive.
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Johnston said expected declines in interest rates were not a factor in the upcoming changes.
The biggest motivation was to differentiate Mega Millions from Powerball and attract customers who might now pass on both games, Johnston said.
More than doubling the ticket price is a big move, but Johnston said research shows people feel comfortable spending at least $5 when they buy scratch tickets or chances at the draw games, like Mega Millions. It is the second price increase since the game was created in 2002.
"You pay 5 bucks for your Starbucks," Johnston noted.
Lottery officials will announce more specifics about the changes in the coming months, he said.