Best Mega Millions Lottery in 2023

The history of the Mega Millions lottery goes back to 1996 when it was known as The Big Game. After the $363 million Big Game jackpot in 2000, interest in lottery games increased. Then, New York and Ohio joined New Jersey, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia to create Mega Millions.

Sales for Mega Millions tickets began officially on May 15, 2002, while the first draw was held on May 17, 2002. Today, Mega Millions is one of the two biggest jackpots in the United States, together with Powerball.

Biggest Mega Millions winners

Like all other lotteries, Mega Millions has changed the fortunes of many players. At the moment, the biggest winner is an anonymous player from South Carolina who bagged a whopping $1.537 billion. The second biggest win was a cool 1.05 billion, won by a four-member lottery club from Michigan.

Mega Millions is quite similar to Powerball in terms of gameplay. Players don't need any special skills to get in the game.

In Mega Millions, there are two drums; the first one with numbers (white balls), from 1 to 70, while the second pool has numbers (Gold Mega Ball/GMB), from 1 to 25.

To get in the action, players must first purchase a ticket. Each Mega Million ticket costs $2. After purchasing a ticket, the next step is picking five numbers from the first drum and one number from the second drum. For those who don't want to pick the numbers manually, Mega Millions has a random number generator feature that chooses numbers for players automatically.

The object of this lottery is to match all the winning numbers. To hit the jackpot, players must correctly match all the numbers from the two pools. For the record, the first five numbers don't need to be in perfect order.

What is Mega Millions Megaplier?

Introduced in January 2011, Megaplier is a feature that enables players to increase their non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times, but at an extra cost of $1 for each ticket. For the record, Mega Millions Megaplier is available in all states and jurisdictions where Mega Millions tickets are sold, except California.

There are a total of 9 ways to win in Mega Millions, and the starting jackpot varies depending on the ticket sales. The starting jackpot is announced before each draw.

Below are the nine ways to win in Mega Millions and the respective odds.

• Grand prize (jackpot) - Match 5WB and GMB: Odds are 1 in 302,575,350
• $1,000,000 - Match 5WB: Odds are 1 in 12,607,306
• $10,000 - Match 4WB and GMB: Odds are 1 in 931,001
• $500 - Match 4WB: Odds are 1 in 38,792
• $200 - Match 3WB and GMB: Odds are 1 in 14,547
• $10 - Match 3WB: Odds are 1 in 606
• $10 - Match 2WB and GMB: Odds are 1 in 606
• $4 - Match 1WB and GMB: Odds are 1 in 89
• $2 - Match GMB: Odds are 1 in 37

The overall chances of winning a prize in Mega Millions is 1 in 24

In addition to the above nine winning ways, there is an exclusive feature dubbed Just the Jackpot. This ticket goes for $3 and tags along with two plays for the jackpot only. As the name suggests, Just the Jackpot is only applicable to the grand prize.

Mega Millions draws and payout options

Mega Millions draws are held twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 pm ET. When it comes to payouts, there are two options. Winners can go for cash or annuity.

That's it, folks, the ultimate guide on how to play lottery online. Indeed, Mega Millions is one of the most rewarding lotteries. Many players' fortunes have been changed overnight. But then, players should always stick to responsible gambling rules and regulations when playing Mega Millions. Lotteries should not be an alternative to school or work.