Mega Millions was overhauled: Are players still winning?

(NEXSTAR) — In April, Mega Millions overhauled its national lottery draw game, marking the first changes in nearly a decade. That included improving prize odds and some payouts while also increasing the cost of playing. 

The changes, game officials said, were meant to lead to bigger prizes, a faster-growing jackpot, and improved odds.

The likelihood of winning any Mega Millions prize jumped from 1 in 24 to 1 in 23 due to the removal of a gold Mega Ball from the pool. That also improved the odds of winning the jackpot to 1 in 290,472,336. The lowest possible payout for a Mega Millions win increased from $2 to $10, thanks in part to an automatic, random multiplier. Jackpots now reset to $50 million after being won instead of the previous $20 million. 

With it all, however, came an increased price to play. A single line of Mega Millions numbers previously set you back $2, plus an additional $1 if you opt for the Megaplier. Now, that same line costs $5, though you get the built-in multiplier and improved odds at a higher payout, officials note.

Is the overhaul paying off? Early data collected by Mega Millions officials seems to suggest as much.

Through 20 drawings, which are held every Tuesday and Friday night, Mega Millions officials say more than $100 million in non-jackpot prizes have been doled out. 

A single jackpot has been won since the major games changes, with a ticket sold in Ohio securing a prize worth $112 million in mid-April. The prize was recently claimed by a trust, which opted for the cash option of $49.3 million, Nexstar’s WJW reports.

It’s difficult to say whether the recent changes to Mega Millions lead to that jackpot growing larger, faster, or being won sooner. Across the 20 jackpots won before it, the average annuity value of each grand prize was $526 million and grew for about 56 days. 

The April prize had been growing for 24 days. Another jackpot worth $112 million won earlier this year in Arizona, had been growing for 21 days.

Game officials say, however, that players are seeing better luck when it comes to non-jackpot prizes. Through the first 20 drawings under the new game, more than $112 million in non-jackpot prizes have been awarded.

That’s up 347 percent, according to Mega Millions officials. Under the old matrix, the same non-jackpot wins would have totaled just $25 million in prizes awarded.

Some of this has been driven by changes to the matrix.

For example, those who match only the Mega Ball have won $45 million alone through the first 20 drawings of the new game. Those who get the lowest possible payout, $10, for matching just the Mega Ball have won a combined $14 million. Under the former matrix, the same players would have won a combined $6 million.

By adding a top multiplier of 10X, Mega Millions officials say more than 143,000 players have been able to win a combined $9.75 million.

It’s worth noting, however, that if those 143,000 players each bought a single row of Mega Millions numbers, they spent a combined $715,000. If those same players purchased a single row of numbers under the former matrix, it would have cost them a combined $429,000 — the top multiplier available to them, however, would have been 5X.

The random multiplier had its biggest impact during the Friday, June 20 drawing. According to Mega Millions officials, this was the first drawing to produce three Match 5 winning tickets: one at $2 million, sold in Georgia; a $3 million prize for a ticket sold in Washington state; and a ticket worth $4 million sold in New Jersey.

"With the random multiplier now included with every purchase, the June 20 drawing alone generated total prize winnings of more than $15 million across all prize tiers," game officials said. "It’s by far the most non-jackpot prizes won in a single drawing since the game changed, and more than 3.6 times what the prize value would have been under the previous $2 game prize structure."

While the changes to Mega Millions may improve your odds of winning a smaller payout and a potentially larger payout than before, your odds of winning the jackpot are still slim. 

Regardless, if you’re ready to try your luck, Mega Millions is available in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the profits each local lottery receives benefit various causes.