Mega Millions is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C. Mega Millions followed two years later, stretching the odds of winning the top prize from 1 in 258.9 million to 1 in 302.6 million. In 2015, the Powerball lottery lengthened the odds of winning from 1 in 175.2 million to 1 in 292.2 million. The credit for such big jackpots comes down to math - and more difficult odds. WHY ARE LOTTERY JACKPOTS SO LARGE THESE DAYS? For every dollar players spend on the lottery, they will lose about 35 cents on average, according to an analysis of lottery data by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. Lottery officials say the average player buys two or three tickets, meaning they’re putting money down on a dream with very little chance of a jackpot payoff. So you could spend a lot of money on tickets and still almost undoubtedly not hit the jackpot. If buying one ticket gives you a 1 in 302,575,350 of winning the jackpot, spending $10 for five tickets improves your chances to only 5 in 303 million. And the odds are so long that it’s certainly not worth spending money you’ll miss for more tickets, experts warn. Your odds of winning are only slightly improved by buying more than one ticket. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
The highest Mega Millions jackpot, won in 2018, was more than $1.5 billion.
