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Play Mega Millions
Mega Millions is one of the most popular multi-state lottery games in the U.S. and regularly offers huge jackpots that can often reach eight, or even nine-figure sums. The game, which is drawn every Tuesday and Friday, is open to players in 45 states across America, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands, and can also be played online from anywhere in the world.
Can I play MegaMillions in the UK
Yes. There are a number of providers on the Internet who allow you to play MegaMillions from the UK. Some use a concierge service where a person in the USA will go out and physically buy your ticket for you. That ticket will then be scanned and put into your account online so you can see that it has been bought. Others will take a "bet" from you against that lottery. So no ticket is physically purchased but you will be paid out the same as if you had actually bought the ticket (the betting companies take out expensive insurance with providers Lloyds of London to cover the eventuality of somebody winning). Both styles of company are heavily regulated to make sure they will pay out, so your entry money is safe.
How To Play MegaMillions
Mega Millions players are required to select five main numbers between 1 and 70 and one Mega Ball from a pool of 1 to 25. In order to win the jackpot, which starts at a minimum of $20 million and increases each time it rolls over, participants must match all five numbers and the Mega Ball.
In addition to the jackpot, there are eight additional prize tiers, each offering differing amounts of prize money. The value of any non-jackpot reward is dependent on how many numbers a player can match, with prizes starting from $2 for ticket holders who are able to match just the Mega Ball.
Players in the US can take part by visiting any authorised retailer in participating states and jurisdictions, while lottery fans from the UK, or anywhere else in the world, can pick their numbers online through websites such as Jackpot.com. These sites allow players to bet on the outcome of the numbers drawn, rather than purchasing a physical ticket, but the prizes available are exactly the same as if you played in America!
Prizes & Odds
Mega Millions boasts nine separate prize tiers, with the value of each non-jackpot tier offering a set cash sum*, regardless of the number of winners. The odds of winning and prize amounts are displayed in the table below:
| Matched | Odds of Winning | Prize Amount | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 + Mega Ball | 1 in 302,575,350 | Jackpot | |||||
| 5 | 1 in 12,607,306 | $1 million | |||||
| 4 + Mega Ball | 1 in 931,001 | $10,000 | |||||
| 4 | 1 in 38,792 | $500 | |||||
| 3 + Mega Ball | 1 in 14,547 | $200 | |||||
| 3 | 1 in 606 | $10 | |||||
| 2 + Mega Ball | 1 in 693 | $10 | |||||
| 1 + Mega Ball | 1 in 89 | $4 | |||||
| Only Mega Ball | 1 in 37 | $2 | |||||
| Approx. Overall Odds: 1 in 24 | |||||||
*Prizes in California will have different values because, by law, all lottery prizes in the state have to be calculated according to ticket sales and the number of winners in each prize tier.
Jackpot
Jackpots in Mega Millions are paid either as an annuity over 30 payments (one immediate payment and 29 annual payments) or as a reduced cash lump sum that consists of all the money currently available in the game’s prize pool.
Megaplier
In most states, Mega Millions players have the option to play the Megaplier for an additional $1 per line. This multiplies any non-jackpot prize by 2 to 5 times according to the Megaplier number drawn at random before the main draw. Unlike with Power Play in Powerball, where the second tier prize is capped at $2 million, the prize for matching five main balls can multiply up to $5 million.
The odds of each multiplier appearing are:
| Megaplier | Odds |
|---|---|
| 2x | 1:3 |
| 3x | 1:2.5 |
| 4x | 1:5 |
| 5x | 1:15 |
Biggest Mega Millions Winners
Its uncapped jackpot means that Mega Millions frequently offers prizes worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and none have been bigger than the $1.602 billion won with a single ticket on Tuesday 8th August 2023. The winning ticket was bought from a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida and the prize was claimed by Saltines Holdings, LLC who took the cash option of $794.2 million.
The second-largest jackpot prize worth $1.537 billion was won on October 23rd 2018 by one player from South Carolina who took the cash option of $877.7 million.
Third place is taken by a single ticket player from Maine who won $1.348 billion on January 13th 2023 and also went for the cash option of $723.5 million.