Mega Millions Online Lottery Review

United States Mega Millions Lotto

Where to Get Lottery Tickets

Mega Millions is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery game initially known as The Big Game or The Big Game Mega Millions when it first started in 1996. Now known as Mega Millions since 2012, it is offered in 45 states across the United States, including the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. However, just like some other lotteries, it isn’t available in Nevada, Utah, Mississippi, and Alabama.

If you wondered whether or not you can play Mega Millions online, you’ve come to the right page. Here we will thoroughly review the lottery with its odds of winning, features, rules of play, and other important things.

How to Participate in Mega Millions Lottery?

Whether an American player or coming from any other country in the world, just like with other US lotteries, you can buy Mega Millions bets from local lottery websites approved and licensed by the Mega Millions and wait for the drawing. On these websites, you will find anything from rules and regulations to information about sales and whatever else you might have questions about.

Odds of Winning the Mega Millions Jackpot

In the initial Mega Millions gameplay, the players had to choose five numbers from 1 and 75 and a sixth supplementary digit from 1 to 15. To be eligible for the jackpot, a player had to have all six winning numbers matched from those drawn. However, now with the new rules of the lottery, all players have to pick five Mega Millions numbers from 1 to 70 and one additional Megaball number from 1 to 25.

Before these last changes, the odds to win the Mega Millions jackpot were 1 in 258,890,850. Nowadays, your chances are 1 in 302,575,350 to become a millionaire. Many people thought these changes and increases in odds were unfair, they do justify the large jackpots that Mega Millions now offers and breaks records with.

In addition to the standard jackpot, Mega Millions created a special feature to offer to those willing to pay one more dollar and play the MegaPlier. Namely, when playing with the MegaPlier, players can increase their standard prize tiers. With that said, this feature can multiply the non-jackpot prizes by two and five times as of 2013.

As for the odds of getting the MegaPlier multiplier effects in your other Mega Millions prizes, with the changes that they employed, the odds have changed too. So, for the 2x MegaPlier odds, you initially had 1 in 7.5 chance, but now your chance is 1 in 3, which is a pretty positive bump in your favor. As for the x5 MegaPlier, the initial odds were 1 in 2.5, but now they are 1 in 15.

When the x5 MegaPlier is won, you have the opportunity to add even $5 million to your second-tier prize should you match it. And when you win the x2 MegaPlier, you get to add 2 million dollars to the Mega Millions prize tier. If you win the lowest-tier prize with the addition of the x2 MegaPlier, you add $4 to your prize while the x5 MegaPlier adds $10 to your lowest-tier prize. All for $1 additional pay, and when you select one additional number that has to be matched for that draw. This really sparked the lottery fever among Americans and fans globally and made this lotto super-popular.

Note that not all states in the US offer the Mega Millions multiplier or the MegaPlier. This is why, before buying the ticket and playing an extra $1, check with your local lottery seller to know for sure.

US Mega Millions Lottery Payouts

You have won a Mega Millions jackpot! Now what? Well, you have two options to choose from. You can get the annuity option that will pay your prize out in 26 years. For instance, if you win $1,000,000 worth of jackpot, you will get approximately $38,500 each year. If this does not suit you and you want to feel the cash in your hands immediately, then you can choose to get a cash option for your money. However, they will keep a small withhold sum because of the interest accumulated over the years. So, as an example, let’s say that you have won $13 million. If you choose the lump-sum payment option, you will get $9 million before all state and federal tax that might apply to you. If you are playing from another country in the world and win the Mega Millions jackpot, the federal taxes apply plus the taxes in your homeland.

The Most Impressive Mega Millions Lottery Jackpots

Mega Millions has had some skyrocketing lottery jackpots over the years, generating many lucky winners. In general, the US has some of the largest offering jackpots in their lotteries in the whole world hence their popularity with many people across the globe. Mega Millions is the holder of one of those huge jackpots to compete with its rivals, especially with the Powerball jackpot. And so, slight changes were made in 2017 in the rollovers of Mega Millions, which helped accumulate a staggering $1.537 billion in 2018 that was awarded to a winner in South Carolina. This is larger than any Powerball jackpot ever won.

Before that, there was a $656 million in 2012 won and split between three people in Kansas, Illinois, and Maryland.

Before the changes of gameplay that we mentioned before, the minimum guaranteed jackpot was $15 million. Now the minimum is $40 million, and that is a life-changing increase for the potential winner. Even if winners don’t match the needed numbers for the Mega Millions jackpot, they still get $1 million as the second-tier prize. The third tier prize has been increased from $5,000 to $10,000, so even if the odds are pretty low right now, winners can still get some notable awards.

US Mega Millions Money Distributions

Mega Millions divide 50% of their bet sales into prizes, while with 15%, they pay out commissions to their retailers and for running costs around the sale. The remaining 35% cover the state governments in each of the states where the bets are officially sold.

Mega Millions Notable Facts

1. The very first Mega Millions draw made one Chicagoan 27-million dollars richer. This winner won the jackpot right at the game’s first-ever draw and made history!

2. To date, Mega Millions has sold more than 450 million winning bets. Although some were small, the number is still impressive and shows how many people try their luck each year for any lottery prize.

3. Also, to date, there have been more than 30 billion Mega Millions bets sold. This number comes as no surprise when you consider that the ticket price is $1.

How to Avoid Being Scammed When Playing Mega Millions Online

Being one of the most popular lottery games today, no wonder Mega Millions has had many scam sites across the internet trying to fool people into buying their bets and giving their personal and billing data. In order to avoid such scams and protect your identity online, you have to be careful about where you play this lottery.

A few of the details to be careful about include checking the website’s terms and conditions before buying Mega Millions online bets. People should also check for any security certificates of the website you selected to buy bets from, and there should be a rather large array of payment options. If you have any doubts about the payment or the buying process overall, do not hesitate to contact that website’s customer support team. This way, you will further check their legitimacy and get answers to any questions.

Also, most commonly, these scammers find their victims through email or social networks. If you get an email saying that you have won something from any lottery, be wary because lottery platforms do not approach their clients in such ways.

US Mega Millions Customer Support

Speaking of customer support and having questions answered, Mega Millions has an online form through which you can write then an email and wait for their response. However, if you are playing this lottery through other verified lotto companies, limit your choice to those that offer live chat that’s available 24/7. This way, you are sure that they will resolve your issues quickly.

Do We Recommend Mega Millions Lottery?

Based on all ratings and reviews, Mega Millions is a legit lottery game that offers some great winning odds. For just a $1 bet purchase, the jackpot starts at $40 million and rolls over to sky-rocketing heights, while the second-tier and third-tier prizes have also been increased over the years, promising some notable wins.