Nebraska Lottery
Lincoln, NE – March 25, 2025 – Starting with the April 8 drawing, Mega Millions players will see changes that include larger jackpots, better odds of winning and a built-in multiplier that increases non-jackpot prizes.
Mega Millions drawings will still consist of five white balls and one gold Mega Ball®, for a total of six winning numbers. Under a new matrix, the number of white balls will stay at 70 and the number of gold balls (the Mega Ball) will decrease from 25 to 24. The result will be improved odds of winning the jackpot prize (1 in 290 million) and many other prize levels. The starting Mega Millions jackpot will also increase from $20 million to $50 million.
“We anticipate that the larger Mega Millions jackpots and new features will appeal to our players,” said Brian Rockey, Nebraska Lottery Director. “The Mega Millions Consortium that sets the game rules does not include Nebraska, but under a licensing arrangement we’ve offered Mega Millions since 2010. It’s produced several Nebraska millionaires along with millions in proceeds for good causes across our state.”
Here are some of the other enhancements that players will see:
- Bigger jackpots more frequently
- Faster growing jackpots
- A built-in multiplier on every play, automatically improving every non-jackpot prize by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X – up to $10 million for matching the five white balls
- No breakeven prizes, meaning when a player wins, they’ll always win more than the cost of a play
The price of each Mega Millions play will be $5. The overall odds of winning any prize will be 1 in 23.07. Tickets for the enhanced game will go on sale beginning April 5.
The Nebraska Lottery began offering Mega Millions in March 2010 after a cross-selling agreement was implemented between the members of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) and Mega Millions member lotteries. Mega Millions is a national game with tickets sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are conducted at 10 p.m. Central Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Profits from every Mega Millions ticket sold remain in the state in which the ticket was sold. For more information, visit www.megamillions.com.
The mission of the Nebraska Lottery is to generate proceeds for good causes while providing quality entertainment options to Nebraskans. $1.015 billion has been raised for the Nebraska Lottery’s beneficiary funds since the Lottery began in 1993. All 93 counties in Nebraska have benefited from projects funded with these Nebraska Lottery proceeds.