The Mega Millions lottery game is increasing the price per ticket to two dollars, among other changes aimed to bolster bigger jackpots.
According to the Wisconsin State Lottery, the game will go from 75 white balls to 70. However, the red balls will increase from 15 to 25, making it statistically harder to win the jackpot.
Current odds to win the jackpot are 1 in 258,890,850. With the new format, those odds jump to 1 in 302,575,350. So it will, in theory, boost jackpot numbers. They anticipate the average jackpot to be $371.4 million.
But it's not all bad. Because they're decreasing the number of white balls, players statistically have a better shot at winning the one million dollar prize, since you only need five white balls to win. The odds to win increase by nearly 32 percent. But don't go quitting your day job yet. Players still only have a 1 in 12,607,307 shot in winning; down from 1 in 18,492,204.
There are a number of other changes as well. Players just interested in the large jackpots can get a slight discount when they purchase two chances. The lottery is offering two tickets for three dollars with the exception, players are only eligible for the jackpot prize. If they match any combination of numbers that would normally win, it won't count.
The group hopes it will continue to help Wisconsin taxpayers by providing the greatest possible property tax relief. Since its beginning in 1988, the Wisconsin Lottery says it has created $3.9 billion in funding for property tax credits. They hope these changes will continue to increase that number.
The odds of winning Mega Millions are on par with the odds of winning Power Ball. The odds of winning the jackpot for Power Ball is 1 in 292,201,338.
