What is the Mega Millions Megaplier?

The Megaplier is an optional add-on feature on a Mega Millions lottery ticket. When you play Mega Millions, you might not win a huge lottery jackpot but winning a boosted secondary prize could still be a life-changing event!

How Does the Megaplier Work?

Mega Millions lottery draws take place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. To participate in the draw, all you have to do is select five main numbers from 1-70, and one Mega Ball number from 1-25. When you purchase your tickets you have the option of including the Megaplier in your lottery entry. Mark the Megaplier multiplier box and you're on your way. There is an extra cost per line, it's true, but there's also the chance that you could multiply your prize by as much as five times when you win.

Do You Need the Megaplier to Win the Jackpot?

Mega Millions' second division prize, normally set at US$1,000,000, can be increased to as much as US$5,000,000! All you have to do is include the Megaplier option with your ticket to potentially increase your non-jackpot winnings by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times, depending on the Megaplier randomly selected for the draw.

For example, if you match the five main numbers in the draw you would normally win a second-tier Match 5 prize of US$1,000,000. However if you played the Megaplier and the Megaplier selected was "3", your Match 5 prize would be worth US$3,000,000.

Linda Evans from Dry Fork, Virginia, matched the five main numbers in the Mega Millions draw on 13 December 2016, entitling her to a US$1 million second division prize. However, Ms. Evans's winnings came out to US$5 million. Her prize was multiplied by five because she included the Mega Millions Megaplier on her winning ticket and "5" was the Megaplier selected for the draw.

In the Mega Millions draw on 16 August 2016, Reg Abare from Barre, Vermont, matched the five main numbers, falling just short of winning the jackpot. For his second division win, Abare usually would have been entitled to a US$1 million prize but Abare had added the Megaplier. The Megaplier selected for the draw was "5" and therefore Abare's prize was US$5 million.

One thing all these second division winners had in common is that they added the Mega Millions Megaplier when they purchased their lottery tickets.

How Much Does the Megaplier Boost Secondary Prizes?

Playing with the Megaplier option does will not affect the size of the jackpot. The Megaplier number selected for the draw defines the size of the non-jackpot prizes, as can be seen in the following tables:

* Mega Ball

As you can see, with a small additional expense, you can multiply secondary winnings by as much as five times. For example, the fifth division US$200 prize for matching three main numbers and the Mega Ball can be boosted to US$400, US$600, US$800, or US$1,000, depending on the Megaplier number chosen for the draw.

There's no need to boost Mega Millions jackpot prizes as they can grow to epic proportions! Take a look at a list of the biggest Mega Millions jackpots in history!

What Are the Odds of Winning a Mega Millions Megaplier Prize?

The Megaplier does not affect the odds of winning the jackpot or of any of the secondary prizes. Instead, the Megaplier affects the size of the non-jackpot prizes awarded in a draw. The Megaplier can multiply those prizes by a factor of two, three, four, or five. The Megaplier is selected before the regular Mega Millions draw from a separate pool of fifteen balls. The Megaplier most likely to be chosen is "3" and the least likely is "5", as can be seen in the table below.

How Does the Megaplier Compare to Powerball's Power Play?

When you buy lottery tickets for the US Powerball, you can add the Power Play option and multiply your non-jackpot prizes up to 10 times. With Power Play, the Match 5+0 prize grows to US$2,000,000 and all other lower prizes are multiplied by the Power Play option selected (2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 10X).

In comparison, when you add the Megaplier to your Mega Millions lottery tickets, the Match 5+0 prize can grow as high as US$5,000,000 if "5" is selected as the Megaplier for that draw. The maximum Megaplier is "5" whereas the maximum Power Play multiplier is "10".

What is Megaplier's History?

The Megaplier was initially offered only by the Texas Lottery starting in 2003 and its initial concept was functionally similar to the original version of Powerball's Power Play. Starting in 2010, the Megaplier feature become part of the lottery's offer in other states. Between September 2010 and October 2013, winners of the Mega Millions second prize with the Megaplier option were automatically awarded a 4X prize of US$1 million. The current system defining the Megaplier and the prize levels was set on 18 October 2013.

The first US$5 million second-tier Mega Millions prize ever awarded went in November 2013 to a ticket sold in Texas where the Megaplier was first introduced.

Why Doesn't California Offer Mega Millions with Megaplier?

You can play Mega Millions all across the United States, as we've noted in our informative Mega Millions Guide. The only location where there is no Megaplier option is California. Unlike other states, California pays Mega Millions prize levels two through nine according to a pari-mutuel distribution of the Mega Millions prize pool aggregated in California for those prize levels. The reason for this alternate prize distribution system is California's penal code, which distinguishes between a "lottery" which cannot be broken and a "banked game" whose bank theoretically could be broken. California authorized only a "lottery" in its Lottery Act, passed in 1984.

As a result of this difference, Californian winners of non-jackpot prizes receive different prize amounts than equivalent winners in other states. This situation can occasionally lead to a Californian winning a higher second division prize than the US$1,000,000 awarded to a Mega Millions second division winner elsewhere.

What Other Lotteries Have Multipliers?

Mega Millions is not the only lottery to have an optional multiplier feature to boost secondary prizes. As mentioned, Powerball offers Power Play, which can multiply non-jackpot prizes by as much as ten times. Lotto Texas offers an optional Extra feature to boost non-jackpot winnings. This exciting Texan lottery can be played on our site as Lotto Texas Extra.

Should You Add the Mega Millions Megaplier to Your Ticket?

Now that you understand how the Mega Millions Megaplier feature works, you might be wondering if you're getting the best value for your money when you add it to your ticket. While some may say that you're spending more in hopes of winning more, we think that if you do end up getting lucky playing Mega Millions, you might as well take home a boosted prize!