Mega Millions changes take effect today: Here's what players should know

Mega Millions implemented new changes Tuesday  – and they could increase a player’s chance of winning big. 

The new changes, which took effect on April 8, mean more billion-dollar jackpots and slightly better odds under the new rules.

Mega Millions changes take effect

By the numbers:

Starting Tuesday, ticket prices jumped from $2 to $5, which is the second adjustment in more than two decades.

Experts say that the change in price will accelerate jackpots much faster, and allow the company to raise the starting jackpot from $20 million to $50 million, experts say.

Each time there isn’t a big winner, the jackpot will jump to a larger mark. Officials expect it will more frequently top the $1 billion threshold that draws extra attention — and bigger sales.

What they're saying:

"You’re going to see a lot more billion-dollar jackpots," Mike Silveira, chief of staff at Jackpot.com, said in an interview with FOX Business. 

"People really want big jackpots," Joshua Johnston, the Washington state lottery director who heads the Mega Millions game, also said. "We expect to see a sales lift on this."

Numbers on tickets for the Mega Millions lottery are selected by a purchaser in Los Angeles, California, on August 4, 2023. (Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

Under the new rules, prizes for tickets not matching all six numbers will also increase, with smaller winners now guaranteed at least $10. Each ticket will also include a randomly assigned multiplier that can increase the prize by up to 10 times, a previous add-on feature that cost an extra $1. The multiplier doesn’t apply to a jackpot.

Will Mega Millions changes make winning jackpot easier?

Experts say that the changes will make a jackpot win easier, but it’s still incredibly unlikely: Odds of 1 in 290 million are still mind-bogglingly hard to beat. And that’s true if you buy one ticket or 100.

RELATED: Mega Millions changes will lead to 'more billionaire jackpots', expert says

"When we hear 1 in 290 million, we don’t have a sense of what that means. We have a greater sense of the fact that there will be a winning number," said Tim Chartier, a mathematics and computer science professor at Davidson College. "And it’s true that it’s possible, but the issue is the extreme improbability of it."

How improbable? The chance of hitting a jackpot, even under the new rules, is akin to choosing one single second over a nine-year span, according to Chartier. He said he’s never been willing to risk even a couple bucks on those odds.

How to play Mega Millions

The backstory:

The lottery, which is available to play in 45 states plus Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands, announced last year that the changes were coming.

For the places where Mega Millions is played, the game raises money for a variety of services, such as education scholarships. Local lottery agencies run the game in each jurisdiction and decisions about how the profits are divvied up are written into state law.

Mega Millions said the lottery game has already produced a record number of jackpot wins exceeding $1 billion. Since it launched in 2002, there have been six billion-dollar jackpot winners. Since the last change in 2017, more than 1,200 players have become millionaires, an average of 3 millionaires per week.