Mega Millions Ticket Price to Increase in April, Reports Say

Mega Millions, one of America’s favorite lottery games, is set to raise the price of its tickets, in line with its earlier plans. The controversial price hike is expected to take place in April, potentially changing how people view the game.

The Game Is Set to Change

As previously announced, Mega Millions would raise the price of its tickets from $2 to $5, marking an increase of over 100%. This would be the first time Mega Millions has increased its pricing since October 2017 when it doubled the cost of a ticket from $1 to $2.

Officials argued that the changes would allow Mega Millions to remain competitive with Powerball while retaining the qualities that make it unique. While experts believe that the change is for the better, it is still expected to have an effect on sales.

Players who might be worried about the price change, however, should keep in mind that they have at least several months before it is ultimately implemented. According to a report by PlayiLottery, the price hike is expected to be implemented on April 5, 2025.

The Price Isn’t the Only Thing Changing

Luckily, the price is not the only thing that’s changing. While the $5 tag might not be to everyone’s liking, Mega Millions will actually make its grand prize slightly easier to win by reducing the gold Mega Ball range from 25 balls to 24 balls.

While this may not seem that significant at first glance, it will greatly alter the chances of someone winning the jackpot. The white ball range will remain at 1-70 despite an earlier proposal to reduce it as well.

In addition to that, the new Mega Millions is expected to sport a refurbished look, further optimizing the player experience.

Speaking of Mega Millions, the game’s jackpot just soared to $800 million with a lump cash option of $401.8 million. The latest drawing may have failed to crown a jackpot winner but elected a whopping seven Match 5 winners. Six of them, from California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire and Texas, took prizes of $1 million each. A single player from Ohio, on the other hand, took $2 million home as they had the Megaplier feature active.