Home >> Mega Millions: How to Play

With MEGA MILLIONS, there are NINE ways to win eight different prizes in this fun game. Jackpots start at a minimum of $12 million; second prize is
a cool $250,000. With the exciting Megaplier add-on you can increase your winnings of up to $1 million.

• Choose your own numbers on a playslip. Select five different numbers from 1 through 56, then select one Mega Ball number from 1 through 46.
• You can also play Easy Pick and let the computer choose your numbers.
• Or you can use a combination of these play methods.
• Each ticket costs $1.00
• All prizes, except the jackpot, are fixed dollar amounts. The jackpot is pari-mutuel.

Megaplier is an add-on feature that allows you to win more money by increasing winners’ non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3 or 4 times. When you buy a Mega Millions ticket and tell the clerk to add Megaplier, you’ll pay $1 more per play. If you win when you have added the Megaplier, your non-jackpot prize is increased by the Megaplier multiplier for that draw. Megaplier increases your winnings up to $1,000,000.

If you add Megaplier and then match the first five numbers and not the Mega Ball number, you would automatically win $1 million — guaranteed. (no matter WHAT the Megaplier number is.) The Megaplier number (2, 3, or 4) is randomly drawn before each Mega Millions draw show and will NOT appear on your ticket.

For more information about Megaplier, click here.



Jackpot winners choose how they want to accept their prize.

Cash Option: Your share of the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool in ONE payment. The value of the payment depends on how much money is received when the U.S. Treasury Bonds are sold.

Annual Payout: Your share of the advertised jackpot in 26 guaranteed annual payments. (If a winner dies, his or her heirs will inherit these payments.) The jackpot prize pool is the amount of money available to the Virginia Lottery to invest in U.S. Treasury Bonds over a 26-year period. The advertised jackpot is the estimated total amount of pre-tax winnings payable over 26 payments.

Mark the OPTIONAL PLAYS box for any, or all, of the following. Playing more than one drawing increases the ticket price by the number of drawings you choose.

Multi-Draw: Play more than one drawing, including the next.

Advance: Play any future drawing, or drawings, except the next.

Repeat: Your play repeats for more than one ticket.

Match all six numbers to win the Mega Millions jackpot. Check the chart here for all NINE ways to win a prize in Mega Millions.

If more than one ticket matches all six numbers in a drawing, winners will share the jackpot. Jackpot winners will choose Annual payout or Cash Option when they claim their prize. Jackpot prizes are pari-mutuel. All other prizes are "fixed" prizes. If prize liability exceeds the prize-pool funding for fixed prizes, these prizes may be paid on a pari-mutuel basis and could be lower than these published prize levels. Refer to the official game rules for detailed explanation.

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. On these days, the cut-off to buy tickets for that night's drawing is 10:45 p.m. Virginia's Mega Millions tickets cannot be canceled. All sales are final. Use a playslip to ensure that you pick the numbers you want. To play more than one drawing, mark the box on the playslip and tell the clerk how many drawings you want. Playing ahead will multiply your ticket price by that number of drawings.

Drawings are broadcast on TV stations listed below. Check your local listing for times or click here to see the latest drawings.

Because so many people play Mega Millions, jackpots get higher more quickly. States whose lotteries sell Mega Millions are Virginia, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Winning tickets bought in Virginia must be redeemed in Virginia.

You can play Virginia's Mega Millions with a Season Ticket. Select your favorite numbers or choose Easy Pick. Each play costs $1 per drawing. You can play for 26, 52 or 104 drawings. Since drawings are held twice a week, 104 drawings would be a one-year subscription.

You can play up to three sets of numbers on a Mega Millions SEASON TICKET playslip. Playslips are available either at Virginia Lottery retailers or here. Subscribers must be at least 18 years old.

About three weeks after you send the payment, you will receive a confirmation letter showing the first drawing for which your Season Ticket is eligible.

If you win the Mega Millions jackpot with a SEASON TICKET, someone from the Virginia Lottery will contact you with instructions on how to claim your prize.

If you win prizes from $150 to $250,000, the Lottery will mail a check to you within three weeks of the drawing. If you win $2, $3, $7 or $10 prizes, you will receive ONE check for the total of all those prizes at the END of your Season Ticket subscription.