Revamp Of Mega Millions Game Debuts In April With Bigger Prizes, Better Odds
Iowa Lottery Will "Step Down" Advance Plays In Current Game
JPEG Link to image showing an example of a ticket in the upcoming $5 Mega Millions game and links to images of Mega Millions game logos are available.
CLIVE, Iowa - A major make-over in Mega Millions® will debut in April, and the Iowa Lottery will soon begin a step down on advance plays in the game leading into that redesign.
The limit on the maximum number of drawings for which players can purchase tickets in advance will be temporary, lasting only until sales in the revamped game begin April 5. But knowing that buying advance tickets is a popular convenience feature, lottery officials want players to know that the changes are coming.
"Once the redesigned Mega Millions game debuts in early April, Iowa players will again be able to purchase tickets in advance for up to 10 drawings," Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn said. "The step down ensures that no one will mistakenly ends up with an invalid play when the new version of the game begins."
The Mega Millions changes are designed to continue to provide the variety of options and big jackpots that players expect today from a premier lotto game.
"The Mega Millions game redesign will excite both existing and new lottery players, as we expect more billion-dollar jackpots and many more million-dollar wins at other prize levels," Strawn said. "I am confident the new Mega Millions game will continue to be a key part of the Iowa Lottery's portfolio of strong-performing games that generate sales and proceeds for important state causes like the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund."
Plays in Mega Millions currently cost $2 with an add-on option available that can increase most prize levels in the game.
Tickets in the redesigned Mega Millions will cost $5 each, and the update will bring significant changes to the game designed to meet player expectations:
- The Mega Millions starting jackpot will more than double, to $50 million. With the redesign, the jackpot will grow faster and there will be bigger jackpots more often, with more jackpots anticipated above the $1 billion mark.
- There will be bigger prizes at all nine of the prize levels in Mega Millions, from matching just the Mega Ball alone all the way up to matching all six numbers to win the jackpot.
- And in a significant change, there will be no "break-even" prizes. The smallest prize in the revamped game will be $10 – twice the purchase price.
- The multiplier, currently an add-on feature that costs an extra $1 per play, will be built into the redesigned game and expanded. With the redesign, each play will include a randomly-assigned multiplier number that will multiply any prize won. The multiplier currently multiplies prizes by 2-5 times, and the revamped game will add a 10X multiplier.
- The odds of winning the jackpot will improve, dropping from about 1 in 303 million to about 1 in 290 million. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game also will improve.
The numbers available to play in Mega Millions will change slightly, with one less number in the mix. Under the redesign, players will choose five numbers out of 70 for the white balls and select the yellow Mega Ball from a separate pool of 24 numbers. The game's current matrix is 5 of 70 + 1 of 25.
The first drawing in the revamped game will be held on Tuesday, April 8. Drawings in the new game will continue to be held twice a week at 10 p.m. central time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
At its meeting on Dec. 18 in Clive, the Iowa Lottery Commission voted unanimously to approve the game-rule changes for the Mega Millions redesign.
Here is the Iowa schedule for the step down on advance plays leading into the Mega Millions revamp:
| Drawing Date | Max Number Of Advance Plays Available |
|---|
| February 28 | 10 |
| March 4 | 9 |
| March 7 | 8 |
| March 11 | 7 |
| March 14 | 6 |
| March 18 | 5 |
| March 21 | 4 |
| March 25 | 3 |
| March 28 | 2 |
| April 1 | 1 |
The step down on advance plays applies only to Mega Millions. All other lotto games in Iowa will continue to have their normal number of advance plays available.
The final drawing in the existing version of Mega Millions will be held on Friday, April 4. Sales in the $5 version of the game begin the next morning, on April 5.
This will be just the second price adjustment since the first Mega Millions ticket was sold more than 20 years ago. And, it is the first change since the game's current prize structure was adopted in 2017.
The redesign will further differentiate the Powerball® and Mega Millions games. Both will continue to be premier big-jackpot games. But they will have different features, different ticket prices, and drawings on different nights.
Iowa is one of 47 lotteries that sell Mega Millions tickets. The others include 44 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Iowa has offered Powerball since that game's start in 1992. Mega Millions debuted in Iowa in 2010, when all U.S. lotteries could begin selling both games.
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