Mega Millions FAQ: 30 Questions Answered

Pick five white balls from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 24, or ask for a Quick Pick and let the terminal choose. You win a prize by matching at least the Mega Ball, or three white balls; match all six to win the jackpot. The white balls can match in any order.

Each play costs $5 (since April 8, 2025). The price includes a random multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X that applies to every prize except the jackpot.

Every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET. The drawing is held in Atlanta, Georgia. We post the winning numbers on the Mega Millions results page minutes later.

Each state sets its own cutoff, usually about an hour or two before the drawing. Tickets bought after the cutoff are for the next drawing, so check the date printed on your ticket.

Mega Millions is sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah don’t sell it. Buy only from licensed lottery retailers or your state lottery’s own website or app.

In some states, yes: a number of state lotteries sell tickets on their own website or app to players who are physically inside the state. Elsewhere you have to buy in person. Avoid unofficial online resellers; if a prize is disputed, only a ticket bought through an authorized channel is protected.

Neither is better: every combination has exactly the same chance. Most jackpot winners used Quick Picks only because most tickets sold are Quick Picks. Choosing your own numbers can matter in one way: popular picks, such as birthdays, are more likely to be shared with other winners.

The drawing is streamed live on the official Mega Millions website and shown on TV stations in many states. If you miss it, the numbers are here within minutes.

The jackpot odds are 1 in 290,472,336. The odds of winning any prize are about 1 in 23.

These are the base prizes for each match:

Every $5 ticket includes a random multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X printed on the ticket. It multiplies every prize except the jackpot, so a Match 5 prize is worth $2 million to $10 million.

The gold Mega Ball is drawn from a separate drum of 24 balls. Matching it alone wins $5 before the multiplier; matching it with all five white balls wins the jackpot.

Yes, but only in proportion: 10 tickets give you 10 chances in 290,472,336. No system, pattern or statistic changes the odds of a single combination.

California law requires lottery prizes to be paid on a pari-mutuel basis: every prize except the jackpot depends on ticket sales and the number of winners in the state, so it can be higher or lower than the amounts listed elsewhere.

Since April 2025, the jackpot starts at $50 million and grows after every drawing without a winner, based on ticket sales and interest rates.

The advertised jackpot is announced before ticket sales are known. The lottery estimates how many tickets will be sold and what an annuity would cost at current interest rates, and updates the figure as sales come in.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $1.602 billion, won with a ticket sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida, on Aug. 8, 2023. See our Mega Millions results page for the current jackpot.

The advertised jackpot is the annuity: 30 payments over 29 years, each 5% larger than the last. The cash option is a single, smaller payment, the money actually in the prize pool. For the current jackpot of $529 million, the cash option is $224.2 million, about 42%. The annuity protects against spending it all at once; the cash can be invested. Winners usually decide with a financial adviser.

Prizes over $5,000 have 24% federal income tax withheld, and jackpot-sized wins are taxed at the top federal rate of 37%, so more is owed when you file. State tax depends on where the ticket was bought and where you live: some states, such as California and Florida, don’t tax lottery prizes, while New York’s top rate is more than 10%. Non-U.S. residents generally have 30% federal tax withheld.

The jackpot is shared equally among all winning tickets, whether they choose cash or the annuity.

In our records, the most recent jackpot win was on July 28, 2026, at $800 million. Every drawing’s result is on our results history page.

Compare your numbers with the winning numbers on our Mega Millions results page: the white balls can match in any order, the Mega Ball separately. Any lottery retailer can scan your ticket for you. The official lottery’s results always take priority.

Smaller prizes can usually be cashed at any lottery retailer. Larger prizes, generally $600 or more, are claimed at a lottery office or by mail with a claim form and ID. Jackpot winners claim at their state lottery’s headquarters. Each state lottery explains its own process on its website.

Each state sets its own deadline, typically between six months and a year after the drawing. The rule for your ticket is printed on its back. Unclaimed prizes go back to the state, so don’t wait.

Yes. A lottery ticket belongs to whoever holds it, so sign the back as soon as you buy it, keep it somewhere safe, and take a photo of both sides.

It depends on the state. Some states let winners keep their name private or claim through a trust or other legal entity; others publish the winner’s name. Check your state lottery’s rules before you claim.

In almost every case a prize can’t be paid without the original ticket. Some state lotteries’ apps or player accounts register tickets, but for a paper ticket the ticket itself is the proof.

Yes. You don’t have to be a U.S. citizen or resident to buy a ticket or claim a prize, but you must buy it legally in a place where the game is sold. Non-residents generally have 30% federal tax withheld from prizes.

Within minutes of each drawing. Every result is checked against at least two independent sources before we publish it; see our editorial policy. The official lottery’s results always prevail.

No. Over time some numbers come up more often than others by chance, which you can see in the most common Mega Millions numbers and the most common pairs and triples, but past drawings don’t change the odds of the next one.