Mega Millions increases minimum jackpot prize from $15M to $40M

Mega Millions tickets will increase in price from $1 to $2 as the minimum jackpot is also boosted by $25 million. LISA POWELL / STAFF

Mega Millions tickets will increase in price from $1 to $2 as the minimum jackpot is also boosted by $25 million. LISA POWELL / STAFF

The Ohio Lottery announced today that the Mega Millions game is being redesigned to offer larger starting jackpots and faster rolls.

Starting jackpots will increase from $15 million to $40 million, and jackpots will grow faster overall, according to a press release from the Ohio Lottery.

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There will be better odds to win $1 million prizes and higher secondary prizes. The ticket price also will change, moving from $1 to $2 beginning Saturday.

In the redesigned game, players select five numbers from 1 to 70, and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25, according to the Ohio Lottery. Players will have a 1 in 24 overall chance of winning a prize.

Mega Millions is one of the world’s biggest and most recognizable lottery games and is currently played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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The largest Mega Millions jackpot was a $656 million prize split by three winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland in 2012, according to the Ohio Lottery.

“We’re excited to bring this change and the opportunity to create more millionaires with the Mega Millions game. Our players demand entertaining games that deliver attention-grabbing jackpots, and this change will do that,” Dennis Berg, Ohio Lottery Director, said in a prepared statement.

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