Iowa Lottery

About Mega Millions

Mega Millions is a multi-state lottery game with MEGA jackpots and MEGA fun.

How To Play

Choose five numbers from 1 to 70 for the white balls, then pick your Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. The more numbers you match in a drawing, the more you win. If you match all six numbers, you win the jackpot!

You can choose your own numbers or ask for an easy pick to have the lottery terminal or self-service kiosk to select the numbers on your ticket. Check the multi-draw box to buy tickets for up to 10 consecutive drawings at a time.

Megaplier Option

You also have the option of adding the Megaplier to your Mega Millions purchase! For an extra $1 for the Megaplier, you could multiply your prize (except the jackpot) by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.

There are nine prize levels in the game, so be sure to check your ticket after each drawing.

Prizes & Odds including the Megaplier Option**

Mega Millions drawings are held at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tickets can be purchased until 8:59 p.m. on the evening of the drawing.

Mega Millions prizes won in Iowa must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing in which they were won.

Cash vs. Annuity Option

When a player wins the Mega Millions jackpot, the winner can choose to receive the prize in annuity payments or elect to take a lump-sum payment. A player has 60 days from the date they claim their prize in Iowa to choose the cash or annuity option.

If the player selects the cash option, they will receive a single payment equal to the amount available in the jackpot prize pool from the sale of tickets in the game. If the player choose the annuity option, their prize will be paid in 30 payments over 29 years. The annual payment will increase by 5 percent to accommodate for factors like inflation. If the cost to purchase the annuity is less than $250,000, the lottery may elect to pay the prize as cash.

For further details, click the Game Rules link at the top of this page.

History

Mega Millions began on August 31, 1996, as the Big Game. In May 2002, the multi-state game was redesigned and given the new name of Mega Millions. Then in January 2010, 23 more state lotteries, including the Iowa Lottery, began selling Mega Millions.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot to date was a prize of more than $1.6 billion won in Florida in August 2023.

* The jackpot prize will be divided equally among multiple winners based on the amount available to the lottery for the jackpot prize pool. The prize pool is estimated to be 55% of Mega Millions sales, but may be higher or lower based upon the number of winners at each guaranteed prize level, as well as the funding required to meet the official advertised jackpot. The official Mega Millions grand prize annuity amount is subject to change based on sales forecasts and/or actual sales.

**The set prize amounts published here are based on the expected number of winners sharing in the prize pool. For any drawing, if prize liability exceeds the percentage of the prize pool allocated to the set prize levels, then all prizes except the jackpot prize may become pari-mutuel and will be lower than these prize levels.

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