(TRENTON, N.J., March 25) – New Jersey will soon experience the updated Mega Millions lottery game. The enhanced game will feature bigger prizes at every non-jackpot prize tier, better odds to win the jackpot, better odds overall, larger starting jackpots and faster-growing jackpots. The first drawing under the new prize structure will be held 11 p.m. Tuesday, April 8.

With higher value prizes embedded throughout every tier of the game, tickets for the new Mega Millions game will increase to $5 per play. This is only the game’s second price adjustment since the first ticket was sold more than 20 years ago and the first change since the current game matrix was adopted in 2017. Players will now be given a multiplier as part of the cost of playing. Previously, players would have to pay to get a chance at a multiplier.

“We constantly hear that our Lottery players want not only bigger jackpots, but bigger secondary prizes, and that’s just what they will see,” New Jersey Lottery Executive Director James Carey said. “With the built-in multiplier, secondary prizes will be anywhere from double to ten times what they were.”

The full prize matrix is available here. Among the new features:

• Improved overall odds: Overall odds to win any prize will improve to 1:23 from 1:24 due to the removal of one gold Mega Ball from the game.
• Improved odds to win the jackpot: Odds to win the jackpot will improve to 1:290,472,336 from 1:302,575,350 due to the removal of one gold Mega Ball from the game. The new game will feature 24 Mega Balls instead of the 25 in the current game.
• Larger starting jackpots: Following a jackpot win, the starting jackpot will reset to $50 million instead of the current $20 million.
• Faster-growing jackpots and bigger jackpots more frequently: Jackpots are expected to grow faster and get to higher dollar amounts more frequently in the new game. The average jackpot win in the new game is estimated to be more than $800 million vs. approximately $450 million in the current game.
• 2X-10X prize increase with built-in random multiplier: Every non-jackpot win will multiply its base prize by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X automatically. Prizes in the new game will range from $10 to $10 million vs. the $2 to $1 million in the current game.
• Win more than the cost to play: With a minimum prize of $10 on a winning ticket in the new game, every winning ticket will pay out at least double the $5 cost for each play. In the current game, the minimum prize on a winning ticket and cost to play are the same: $2.

The final drawing under the previous structure is April 4. Unless someone wins that drawing, the jackpot from the current game will roll into the new game. Players who have a winning ticket that was issued for a drawing before the game change and who claim their prize before the expiration date on the ticket will be paid based on the prize matrix in effect during the time of the drawing for their ticket, regardless of when the prize is claimed.

About Mega Millions

Mega Millions is a national game with tickets sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia.

About New Jersey Lottery

Since its inception in 1970, the Lottery has contributed nearly $33.7 billion to the State, helping support many worthwhile programs and services. Lottery profits currently help bolster the public employee pension system under a 30-year agreement signed into law in 2017.