Changes coming to the Massachusetts lottery game Megabucks

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – The Massachusetts State Lottery is redesigning their Megabucks lottery game which may affect how much you pay for a ticket.

Beginning on Monday, November 13, drawings for the lottery game will now be done three times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. There will also be several changes to the ticket when you go to buy it at your local convenience store. The amount of numbers to choose from will be reduced from 49 to 44, which will increase the odds of winning from 1 in 54 to 1 in 39.3.

Another change to the lottery game will be the price of the ticket. Megabucks will no longer include a “Doubler” component and all tickets will now be $2, up from $1.

According to the lottery commission, the changes to the game are expected to make it more valuable to players, have a better odds of winning, a higher jackpot and a bigger payout.

“The Megabucks game has been making millionaires in Massachusetts for over 40 years and we are excited about these enhancements that will result in more winners at all prize levels, including the jackpot,” said Mark William Bracken, Executive Director of the Mass Lottery.

Players will still pick six numbers and have a chance to win by matching three, four, five or all six numbers.

Megabucks has been around since November 1982 and has gone through several changes through the years, the most recent change was in 2009 when the Doubler format was added.

The largest jackpot history was $21.7 million on October 16, 1985 and was split between eight winning tickets. At the time of that winning game, it was the third largest jackpot won in the United States. The largest single jackpot won by one person was $16.35 million on September 10, 2022 and was sold in Ware.