What Are Your Odds of Winning Mega Millions?

Considering the size of the jackpots, it's no wonder people take note of Mega Millions. Winning a Mega Millions billion dollar jackpot is one of the most aspirational dreams out there, but have you ever stopped to wonder what exactly the odds are of taking home that top prize? What about the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize? The more you know, the better, which is why we've put together this comprehensive Mega Millions odds guide.

So what are the Mega Millions odds?

It's a bit surprising, but actually the odds of winning Mega Millions don't change from draw to draw. Lottery odds are based on how many numbers you have to guess and what the guess range is, which are two factors that stay the same for each draw no matter how big the Mega Millions jackpot is or how many people are playing for it.

What does change depending on the draw is the chances of the jackpot being split or not. That's because the more people that play, the higher the odds that there will be more than one winning ticket, meaning the winnings will be split between players.

Another factor that can affect whether or not a jackpot is split is how popular the winning numbers are.

An interesting example of this happened in 2011 when 41,763 people all played the same numbers for a Mega Millions draw. Those numbers were 4 8 15 16 23 42. You might actually recognize those numbers; they were the numbers that the fictional character Hurley won the lottery with in the 2004 television show Lost.

Unlike Hurley, those Lost fans only matched four of the numbers so they all got their full secondary prize, which back in 2011 was $150. Still, it's worth noting that had they actually won the jackpot it would have had to be split 41,763 different ways and would have been worth a lot less than the $240 million on offer. In the actual draw, there were only two winning tickets for the jackpot.

What are the odds of winning Mega Millions secondary prizes?

Now that you know how when you play and what numbers you play affects the odds, it's time to see what the actual chances of winning Mega Millions prizes are.

Mega Millions has nine tiers of prizes so there's plenty to play for even if you don't win the jackpot.

Another interesting statistic is that the odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes in a draw are actually 1 in 24, which is slightly higher than Powerball's 1 in 24.9.

Non-jackpot prizes can also be increased with the optional Megaplier add-on.

What are the odds of winning Mega Millions's jackpot?

The odds of winning Mega Millions's jackpot are 1:302,575,350, making it a slightly tougher jackpot than the Powerball odds, which are 1:292,201,338.

The Mega Millions second prize is worth a very impressive $1 million, and can go up to as high as $5 million with the Megaplier. The odds for that second prize are drastically different from the jackpot, at 1:12,607,306.

Make the most out of Mega Millions

TheLotter Texas has many options for playing Mega Millions and other top lotteries on the site in whatever way that suits you, like subscriptions. With a subscription, you'll automatically play in every consecutive Mega Millions draw until you choose to stop.

Another option is ordering a multi-draw package, which lets you choose how many draws to play for in advance, all while earning discounts.

That's not all, however. TheLotter Texas also makes it very simple to play as part of a lottery pool.

The last thing you should never forget is that the best Mega Millions chances are with the non-jackpot prizes. In every drawing, those non-jackpot prizes can be multiplied between two and five times, so don't forget to go for the optional Megaplier if you really want to make the most out of Mega Millions.

Try your Mega Millions luck!

Now you know what the odds are for Mega Million and that means you're ready to purchase lottery tickets on TheLotter Texas.