Mega Millions

Mega Millions is easily one of the most popular lottery draws in the entire world thanks to its huge prizes and excellent guessing range. The minimum jackpot starts at a whopping $40 million that can be one by guessing 5 regular numbers and 1 Mega Ball!

Mega Millions: Basic Information

Title	info
When	Every Tuesday and Friday at 8 PM
Where	USA
Minimum Jackpot	$40 million
Guessing Requirements	5/70 regular \| 1/25 Mega Ball
Prize Divisions	9
Biggest Jackpot Record	$1.537 billion

How to Play Mega Millions

Mega Millions may be one of the biggest lotteries in the world just because of how fun and exciting its playing rules are. Your first move it to pick out your regular numbers. With a choice of 5 out of 70 total numbers. Next, you’ll select one Mega Ball number out of a total of 25 Mega Balls. Things get really exciting with the world-renowned Megaplier. This is a non-jackpot multiplier that has the potential to take your winnings to unimaginable new heights. Just remember to activate it when you purchase your ticket, otherwise, you might miss out! Ready to play? Here’s your quick guide to winning the biggest possible prize in Mega Millions:

Choose 5 out of 70 numbers
Choose 1 out 25 Mega Balls
Activate the Megaplier non-jackpot multiplier
Get notified by e-mail or SMS on every win

Mega Millions Prize Divisions

Mega Millions has 9 prize divisions, offering players a lot of variety in their formulating their playing strategy. The table below details the number of regular and mega balls needed to win each prize division.

Division	Regular Balls	Mega Balls
9	1	–
8	1	1
7	2	1
6	3	–
5	3	1
4	4	–
3	4	1
2	5	–
1	5	1

Prize Payout

Mega Millions offers you the choice between getting your prize in one big chunk or as annuities, also known as regular installments. Annuities are usually offered on a monthly or yearly basis, although sometimes there are additional options available to you. In general, you can expect the one-time payment to be a bit lower than annuities, but the choice is always yours.

Mega Millions: The Most Amazing Moments in History

Mega Millions has been paying out huge jackpots since as early as 1996 when it was uninspiringly named “The Big Game”. It started in only 6 states, which is a far cry from today’s national recognition as one of the most popular USA lotteries to ever exist. It took a few years, but “The Big Game” was finally renamed as Mega Millions in 2002, starting the golden age of jackpots for this hugely successful lottery. The Megaplier was introduced in 2003, and the rest was history. There really wasn’t anything standing in Mega Millions’ way of reaching the very top of ratings and excitement. 2017 was a pivotal year for Mega Millions as major changes to the game’s rules allowed for even bigger jackpots, going as high as $1.537 billion (with a B)!

$656 Million – Awarded on March 30, 2012, to three incredibly lucky winners who each got $218.7 million.
$648 Million – Awarded on December 17, 2013, to a couple of happy winners who each pocketed an outstanding $324 million.
$1.537 Billion – Awarded on October 23, 2016, to a single winner. Can you imagine how amazing it is to not only set a new record for the largest jackpot but also win it all by yourself? This was the biggest single-ticket win in the history of the lottery!

Important Tax Information

No one likes to talk about tax, but it’s an inevitable part of winning hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Generally speaking, lottery prizes are taxed at the source with three tax tiers. The first, for prizes of up $599.99 is free, so there is no tax on these winnings. Next, there’s the $600-$4,999.99 tier, subject to a 30% tax rate for players that are not local residents. The final tier is tied to winnings of prizes that exceed $5,000. In this case, you’ll pay a 38.82% tax on your winnings. Be sure to check with your local laws to make sure there isn’t further taxation required of you.