Large lotteries increase their price and thus reduce the chances of winning

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mega Millions lottery wants bigger jackpots and better odds, but it will cost more… more than twice as much.

Mega Millions announced that it will increase the price of a single game from $2 to $5 in April, with the promise that this will lead to faster-growing and larger jackpots. It is also said that the tickets have a built-in multiplier that could increase the prize to $10 million if five white balls match without the Mega Ball.

There will also be no “break-even” pricing, meaning a winning ticket will always be worth more than the $5 price.

RELATED: Mega Millions numbers for Tuesday October 8, 2024; Jackpot $129 million

Joshua Johnston, executive director of the Mega Millions Consortium, tells the Los Angeles Times that the changes are intended to differentiate Mega Millions from other lottery games.

“Sales really ramp up around $700 million to $800 million (jackpots), and when they reach $1 billion, things really take off. So there is obviously an appetite for these eye-popping jackpots,” Johnston tells The Times.

There have been six Mega Millions jackpots of over $1 billion. Most recently, a $1.13 billion jackpot was won in March in Neptune Township, New Jersey. According to Mega Millions, the prize has not yet been claimed and will expire after one year.

The current chance of winning a Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 302.6 million. The press release did not say how the quotas would be adjusted.

This is the first price increase since 2017 and only the second since Mega Millions launched in 2002.

Mega Millions tickets are sold in Ohio and 44 other states, as well as Washington, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The draws currently take place on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings.