Mega Millions Reportedly Mulling Substantial Ticket Price Increase
Posted on: April 16, 2024, 11:13h.
Last updated on: April 16, 2024, 02:04h.
It’s only a rumor for now, but reports are swirling that Mega Millions is weighing a substantial price increase for a basic play.
Brett Smiley of LotteryGeeks.com reports that sources close to the discussion believe the Mega Millions Consortium, which operates the interstate lottery game on behalf of its 47 participating member jurisdictions, is ready to jack up the price of a ticket from $2 to $5. Smiley’s sources say the odds appear likely for a ticket cost increase.
My understanding is that they’re stuck on $5,” one of Smiley’s sources said. “I think it’s about as close to final as it can be.”
Smiley’s informants say there is not currently a discussion about additionally raising the cost of the $1 add-on Megaplier, which allows nonjackpot winning tickets to double, triple, quadruple, or quintuple their prize. ?
Mega Millions last raised the price of a ticket from $1 to its current $2 cost in 2017. The price jump coincided with the consortium overhauling the gameplay format to make it more difficult for players to win the jackpot.
Format Changes
The 2017 Mega Millions overhaul involved increasing the number of gold Mega Balls from 15 to 25 while reducing the number of white balls from 75 to 70. The adjustment lengthened the odds of a ticket matching the six drawn numbers to claim the jackpot from roughly one in 258.9 million to one in 302.5 million.
Mega Millions officials voted in favor of the change after Powerball underwent a similar revamp two years earlier.
Powerball, which is run by the Multi-State Lottery Association, increased the number of white balls by 10 to 69 in 2015 while reducing the number of red Powerballs by nine. That change lengthened the game’s jackpot odds from one in 175.22 million to one in 292.2 million.
The Mega Millions and Powerball format changes resulted in fewer jackpots being hit, which in turn delivered the popular interstate lottery games with headline-making jackpots. The 10 largest lottery jackpots in United States history, which have all come from Mega Millions and Powerball, have all been won since 2016.
Dubbed “lottery hysteria” by lottery officials, the seemingly nonstop barrage of advertised generational-changing jackpots has been a major win for the lottery organizations and their participating jurisdictions. That in turn has delivered record financial benefits for the many causes state lotteries benefit such as property tax relief, education, and seniors programs.
Fiver Too Much?
Raising the basic price of a Mega Millions ticket by 150% is certainly not without risk. Many lottery hopefuls aren’t exactly flush with cash, coining the adage that the lottery is a tax on the poor is backed by statistical data.
Researchers at the University of Maryland and Boston University in 2022 concluded that lotteries primarily rely on low-income players and people of color, specifically Blacks and Hispanics. The report, “Mega Billions: The Great Lottery Wealth Transfer,” summarized that lotteries often take critical money out of socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. ?
For many players, an extra three bucks for a hope and a dream might be tough to swallow. For those who continue to play, the wealth transfer or poor tax will perhaps continue at only a more rapid pace.
The greatest beneficiary of such a change could be Powerball. Along with having better jackpot odds, the game would be $3 cheaper to play.
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Last Comments ( 13 )
If you looks at the lottery machines in Virginia. You can’t do future plays past a certain date for mega millions. The last time that happened there was a change. Something is coming and if it is a $5 per play, I’m out.
Interesting, Mac. Thanks for the heads up. I'm in Virginia too, will investigate with a lottery vendor.
I just saw this story and have to ask if they are crazy. I am barely motivated to spend two dollars now when jackpots grow to half a billion.
:-( I NO LONGER PLAY POWER OR MEGA ANYWAY... WHEN SALES DROPPED DURING COVID19 THE STARTING JACKPOTS WENT $40 MILLION TO $20 MILLION... AND STILL IS STARTING AT $20 MILLION WHILE SALES ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO GET TO $1 BILLION JACKPOTS... EVERY TOP JACKPOT WINNER SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2022 HAS BEEN RIPPED OFF FOR A $20 MILLION ANNUITY
ILL DROP PLAYING MEGAMILLIONS IN A HEART BEAT IF ITS RAISED TO A FIVER! NOPE! HARD PASS!
I will never understand the people who say the will only spend $5 if it’s close to a billion. So, 500 million isn’t life changing enough to wager $5? I won’t play mega at all if it goes to $5. Otherwise I will play regardless of the jackpot. The odds don’t change based on the jackpot, and any jackpot is life changing for me - so I won’t be holding out for a billion dollar jackpot. You guys must all be multi-millionaires if you won’t play to win $250 million, or even 20 million, but once it hits that billion; now you’ll give it a shot. That is worth the $2 or $5 wager? People are weird.
I think for some it's simply a way for them to keep their lottery spending in check. Otherwise, $5 2x or 3x a week adds up quick.
I play a ticket in every Mega and Powerball drawing. I will no long play Mega if this is true.
I agree, they are crazy. I always play the multiplier.so $6 bucks.
Mega Millions you're absolutely drunk with delusion thinking that you can get away with a $5 basic price to play.
Concur as well. With odds that ridiculous, I too will only play when it's close to a billion which is what my group does anyway.
I would only pay $5 if over a billion. This could actually save me money. Wonder what the total amount spent would be if the odds of hitting all 6 was much lower so more players could split it. The current odds are ridiculous.
I was thinking the same, Bob. I play every now and again, but at $5 I probably won't unless it's $1B+ -- prob save me a little dough, too.