Mega Millions players will have to pay $5 for a ticket — more than twice the current cost — beginning next April as part of an overhaul of the 22-year-old lottery game, Mega Millions announced on Monday.
The planned increase in the price of a ticket, which currently costs $2, is part of a larger effort to have larger jackpots and improve ticket buyers’ odds, the lottery said in a news release.
It will be the second time since the lottery game began in 2002 that the cost has gone up. The odds will be increased because of a change in the number of balls available for drawing, a Mega Millions official said, adding that more details would be released closer to April.
Joshua Johnston, the lead director at Mega Millions, said that researchers had found that lottery ticket buyers on average were spending more than $5 for a variety of different games.
“We saw that the $5 wasn’t a big thing for them,” Mr. Johnston said, adding that big jackpots for Mega Millions were a “huge driver” for people to buy tickets. “We wanted to do what we can to satisfy those players and new players.”
Mega Millions tickets increased to $2 from $1 in 2017, Mr. Johnston said, noting that customers complained at the time but continued to play.
The Mega Millions jackpot surpassed $1 billion for the first time in 2018, and has done so six times since then, according to its website. Three of the top ten biggest Mega Millions jackpots happened this year.
Powerball, Mega Millions’ main competitor in the lottery industry, does not plan to change its ticket prices or odds, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, the nonprofit that owns and operates lottery games across several states.
Mega Millions winners, like those in many lotteries, have the option of getting a portion of the advertised winnings in cash up front or in payments over time from a fund that accrues interest.
Lower interest rates resulting from action by the Federal Reserve could lead to lower prize money for some lottery winners who choose to be paid through an annuity. But Mr. Johnston said that was not a factor in the decision to change the game and price this spring.
“We don’t get into the ‘Let’s bet on the market’ game,” he said.
Mega Millions is run by a consortium of different state lotteries, and the proceeds often go to programs for education, environmental causes and more. The chances of winning the jackpot are about 1 in over 300 million, according to Mega Millions.
Rohit Patel, a convenience store manager in Manhattan, said that he did not think that new customers would play when the price of Mega Millions tickets increases, but he predicted that regulars will keep coming back.
“They’re going to be mad, but they’re going to bet,” he said, adding that the jackpot might also draw new customers if it gets to $2 billion.
Jermaine James, 39, a self-described lottery fan who has been buying tickets since 2016, said that he wanted more detail on how the changes would increase his odds of winning, but noted that the jump in ticket price would not deter him from playing Mega Millions.
“Sometimes it breaks my heart,” Mr. James said of the lottery game. But he added:
“Everybody is open to winning.”
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