Mega Millions Takes Risky Bet in Raising Ticket Price to $5, Lottery Players Furious

Posted on: October 8, 2024, 08:33h. 

Last updated on: October 8, 2024, 09:12h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The price for a Mega Millions ticket will more than double from $2 to $5 in April 2025 and lottery players aren’t too thrilled to learn about the format changes the Mega Millions Consortium labels as “enhancements.”

Mega Millions price lottery ticket Powerball
The price for a Mega Millions ticket is increasing to $5 next year. Many lottery players are criticizing the lottery for jacking up the price. (Image: Casino.org)

On Monday, the Mega Millions Consortium confirmed the speculation first reported in April of this year by our friends at LotteryGeeks.com. Officials with the interstate lottery game claim the mega overhaul will improve players’ odds of winning the jackpot, lead to larger jackpots, swell jackpots faster, and eliminate breakeven outcomes, meaning when a player wins, they’ll always win more than what the ticket cost.

We are creating a game that both our existing players and people new to Mega Millions will love and get excited about playing,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium and the director of the Washington Lottery. “We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, meaning creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots climb, plus this game will continue the important legacy of supporting great causes everywhere Mega Millions is played.”

Another key change is that every $5 ticket comes with the Megaplier — currently an optional $1 add-on — that will automatically multiply nonjackpot wins by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x, up to $10 million for matching the five white balls.

Format Changes

The price of a Mega Millions play has remained $2 since the game doubled the price from a dollar in October 2017. That price increase also came with a major overhaul of the game’s odds by reducing the number of white balls from 75 to 70 while increasing the number of gold Mega Balls from 15 to 25.  

The 2017 format swap resulted in the jackpot’s odds ballooning from one in 258.9 million to one in 302.5 million. The 2025 Mega Millions gameplay changes will maintain the jackpot’s present odds, which are longer than rival Powerball’s at one in 292.2 million.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states plus Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands. The game is drawn twice a week on Tuesday and Friday nights at 11 p.m. EST.

Angry Customers

Johnston realizes that raising the Mega Millions price by 150% won’t sit well with everyone, and it seemingly isn’t sitting well with most lottery players.

Johnston reasoned that people “pay five bucks for Starbucks.” On X, a user responded to that comment by saying, “I know I’m getting caffeine with Starbucks; I don’t know if I win anything with Mega Millions.”

Another social media user said he’s “probably never buying a lottery ticket after April.” Other users expressed concerns that many lottery winners are not wealthy enough to stomach the substantial price increase for a hope and a dream.

Decent salary earners know the lottery is a horrible investment with very little return,” said another.

Officials with Powerball, Mega Millions’ primary competitor, said they have no plan to increase the game’s ticket price or change its gameplay. Powerball could be the big winner of Mega Millions jacking up its ticket price, as many Mega Millions players will presumably cut back their play unless the jackpot climbs to $1 billion or more.