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How to Play Mega Millions: A Complete Guide for Beginners
A beginner's guide to Mega Millions: how the 5/70 plus 1/24 draw works, the $5 ticket with a built-in multiplier, all nine prize tiers and your real odds.
Mega Millions in one paragraph
Mega Millions is a multi-jurisdiction draw game sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. You pick five white numbers from 1 to 70 and one gold Mega Ball from 1 to 24, and a machine does exactly the same thing twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday nights. Match all six numbers and you win the jackpot; match some of them and you win one of eight smaller prizes.
The game changed on April 8, 2025. Tickets now cost $5 per play and include a multiplier, the Mega Ball pool shrank from 25 numbers to 24, the starting jackpot after a win rose to $50 million, and the odds improved at every level. Those are the rules this guide describes — and the ones our Mega Millions generator and statistics are built on.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was $1.602 billion, claimed in Florida in August 2023.
The rules, in plain English
One play is six numbers: five from the white ball pool (1–70) and one from the gold Mega Ball pool (1–24). Fill in a playslip yourself or ask for an Easy Pick / Quick Pick. Order does not matter — 3-18-27-44-61 with Mega Ball 9 is exactly the same play as 61-44-27-18-3 with Mega Ball 9.
The multiplier is included, not an add-on
Unlike Powerball, where Power Play and Double Play cost extra, every Mega Millions ticket includes a randomly assigned multiplier on all non-jackpot prizes: 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x. You do not choose it and you cannot buy a better one — 10x turns up about 1 in 32 plays, and 2x about 1 in 2.13.
When Mega Millions draws happen
Drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Sales close one to two hours before each drawing, and the exact cutoff is set by your state. Results are published within minutes — compare them against the real draw history in our Mega Millions statistics.
What your odds really are
The odds of matching all six numbers are 1 in 290,472,336: there are exactly that many ways to combine five numbers from 1–70 with one Mega Ball from 1–24, and each $5 play is one of them. Your overall odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 23, slightly better than Powerball's 1 in 24.87.
| Match | Prize with multiplier | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 5 numbers + Mega Ball | Jackpot | 1 in 290,472,336 |
| 5 numbers | $2,000,000 – $10,000,000 | 1 in 12,629,232 |
| 4 numbers + Mega Ball | $20,000 – $100,000 | 1 in 893,761 |
| 4 numbers | $1,000 – $5,000 | 1 in 38,859 |
| 3 numbers + Mega Ball | $400 – $2,000 | 1 in 13,965 |
| 3 numbers | $20 – $100 | 1 in 607 |
| 2 numbers + Mega Ball | $20 – $100 | 1 in 665 |
| 1 number + Mega Ball | $14 – $70 | 1 in 86 |
| Mega Ball only | $10 – $50 | 1 in 35 |
Every winning ticket pays at least $10, which is double the cost of one play. The multiplier changes how much you win, never whether you win: the odds column is identical whichever multiplier your ticket carries.
How to buy a Mega Millions ticket
- Find a licensed retailer. Mega Millions is sold at authorized convenience stores, gas stations, supermarkets and lottery kiosks.
- Fill in a playslip or ask for a Quick Pick. Each panel is one $5 play. Many players generate their numbers first with our number generator and copy them onto the slip.
- Buy before the cutoff, one to two hours before the Tuesday and Friday drawings.
- Sign the back of the ticket. A ticket is a bearer instrument: whoever signs it can claim the prize. Photograph the front and keep it safe.
- Check the results, then the deadline. Claim periods run from 90 days to one year depending on the state, and unclaimed prizes are gone for good.
Mega Millions is not sold in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada or Utah. Some states sell online through their own lottery apps, and licensed courier services operate in a few markets — if you use one, check that it is regulated in your state and know who holds the ticket.
Annuity or cash, and what taxes take
The advertised jackpot is the annuity value: one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments, each 5% larger than the last. Choose the cash option and you take a lump sum equal to the cash in the prize pool — usually 40–50% of the advertised figure for a large jackpot.
Taxes on a Mega Millions win
- Federal withholding of 24% applies automatically to prizes above $5,000.
- The top federal marginal rate is 37%, so large winners usually owe more at filing — a common reason winners end up with roughly half of the advertised jackpot.
- Most states also tax winnings, while a few have no state income tax or exempt lottery prizes. Our Powerball guide covers the same basics in more detail, and the state-by-state guide to lottery taxes has the rates. A tax professional should be involved before you claim.
How to pick your numbers (and the honest truth about it)
Every combination has exactly the same chance: 1 in 290,472,336. A ticket reading 1-2-3-4-5 with Mega Ball 6 is not less likely to win than a spread-out set, and no chart, system or tool — including ours — changes those odds. Anyone who says otherwise is not being straight with you.
A generator removes friction: it produces a genuinely random spread in one click, respects numbers you want to exclude, and can bias the selection toward the numbers that appeared most or least often before. That last part is entertainment, not prediction — past frequency does not influence the next draw. See the current hot and cold numbers in our Mega Millions statistics, then build a set in the Mega Millions generator.
If you would rather choose deliberately than randomise, these habits at least keep the game fun and the math honest:
- Spread your picks out. Mix low and high numbers and odd and even. It does not improve your odds; it just looks like a typical draw.
- Beware the birthday cluster. Dates concentrate picks in 1–31, which does not hurt your odds but can mean sharing a jackpot with more people.
- Decide random or personal — then stop. Switching numbers every week does not change your odds; it only makes your results harder to track.
Mega Millions vs Powerball in one minute
The two big national games are more similar than most players realise: both use five white balls plus one special ball, both draw two or three times a week, and their jackpot odds are within about 0.6% of each other.
| Mega Millions | Powerball | |
|---|---|---|
| Number matrix | 5 from 1–70 + 1 from 1–24 | 5 from 1–69 + 1 from 1–26 |
| Jackpot odds | 1 in 290,472,336 | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| Overall odds | about 1 in 23 | about 1 in 24.87 |
| Base price | $5 per play, multiplier included | $2 per play, plus $1 Power Play and/or $1 Double Play |
| Draws | Tuesday and Friday, 11 p.m. ET | Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, 10:59 p.m. ET |
In practice the choice comes down to cost, draw days and whether you value a multiplier built into the price. Our full Powerball vs Mega Millions comparison covers the rest, including prize tiers.
Beginner mistakes worth avoiding
- Chasing losses. Buying more tickets after a losing streak is the fastest way to turn entertainment into a problem.
- Treating it as an investment. The expected value of a ticket is negative; what you buy is entertainment plus a very small chance of a life-changing payout.
- Assuming a bigger jackpot improves your odds. A $1 billion jackpot has the same 1-in-290,472,336 chance as a $50 million one — it just attracts more players, so it is more likely to be split.
- Thinking the multiplier is a choice. It is assigned at purchase and applies to non-jackpot prizes only.
- Forgetting the basics. Unsigned tickets, tickets left in a coat pocket and missed claim deadlines are money thrown away — and buy only from licensed sellers, or you may have no legal claim to a prize.
Start with a plan, then enjoy the game
Decide in advance how much you are willing to spend each week or month, and treat that as the full cost of your entertainment. Pick your game, choose how to pick your numbers, and check the results the morning after the drawing.
Generate a set, save the lines you like, and keep it in proportion: Mega Millions is a game you play for fun, with a prize that is astronomically unlikely. That is exactly what makes it fun.
Generate your Mega Millions numbers
Build a line for the next Tuesday or Friday drawing in one click, exclude numbers you do not want, or use balanced mode to spread your picks across the range.
Open the Mega Millions generator