Most states offer the Megaplier feature on Mega Millions.
But what does it do, how does it work — and should you even bother with it?
Let’s get into it.
How To Play Mega Millions Megaplier
You can only play the Megaplier as an extra option when you play Mega Millions.
To add it to your ticket, you simply check the Megaplier box on your playslip:-
As you can see to play Megaplier costs an extra $1 per play.
Normally each play on Mega Millions would be $2. If you add this option then it will cost you $3 for each play, not just $1 extra overall.
That means your $10 ticket will now cost you $15. Just so that’s clear. 🙂
So how do you play the Megaplier – just check the ‘Y’ box. There are no extra numbers or anything to pick.
How Much Do You Win if You Get the Megaplier?
You don’t win by getting the Megaplier itself. Instead the Megaplier multiplies the prize you win with your normal Mega Millions numbers.
For example, if you won a match 5 prize (that’s the 5 main numbers) then you would normally win $1 Million. If you also got the Megaplier option when you bought the ticket, then this amount is multiplied by the Megaplier amount. So if the Megaplier was ‘5X’ then you win 5 times the normal prize – or $5 Million instead of $1 Million in this example.
NOTE: The Megaplier only applies to the non-jackpot prizes. If you win the jackpot you only get the regular jackpot amount.
What Determines the Megaplier?
The Megaplier is randomly picked before the main draw. It is drawn from a set of 15 balls. Five of these are marked ‘2X’, six balls with ‘3X’, three balls with ‘4X’ and only one ball with ‘5X’.
So What Are the Megaplier Odds?
The odds of each Megaplier ball being drawn are simply:-
Megaplier Number | Megaplier Odds |
---|---|
2X | 1 in 3 |
3X | 1 in 2.5 |
4X | 1 in 5 |
5X | 1 in 15 |
Where Is the Megaplier Number on the Ticket?
Your main Mega Millions ticket will simply say “MEGAPLIER – YES” (or “MEGAPLIER – NO”) to indicate that you chose to play this option.
It will not state a Megaplier number as you don’t have to match the number. So you won’t see e.g. ‘4X’ on your ticket. And there is no separate ticket for this option.
Is Megaplier Worth It?
If you win a non-jackpot prize then obviously you’re going to wish you had played the Megaplier.
But the important word here is the ‘if’. Because the Megaplier means nothing if your main numbers don’t win anything.
It’s also worth remembering that the Megaplier isn’t always ‘5X’. There is only a 1 in 15 chance that it is a 5X. It’s much more likely to be 2 or 3. Which would only turn your $10 match 3 prize into $20 or $30.
So is the Megaplier worth it? In my opinion, no, because maximising your chances of winning is the better strategy. Which is something the Megaplier will not help with.
As an example, if you normally play 10 plays that would cost you $20. If you add the Megaplier that now costs $30. But for that $10 extra you could have played another 5 plays. And that could be the difference between winning a jackpot and winning nothing. The Megaplier does nothing to increase your chances of winning the jackpot.
More Megaplier Questions
No, you don’t win anything for getting the Megaplier number. You can’t actually get the Megaplier number. You can either play this option or not, you don’t get to pick a number.
It costs an extra $1 per play to add Megaplier to Mega Millions. Not $1 per ticket, this is $1 extra per combination of Mega Millions numbers that you pick.
If it says ‘Megaplier = Yes’ on your Mega Millions ticket then it means you chose to play this ‘add on’ option. Which means you could win up to 5 times more than the usual prize if you win.
It multiplies the size of any non-jackpot prize that you win. This can be up to 5 times more – depending on which Megaplier number is drawn.
A Megaplier of 2X simply means that you will win ‘2 times’ (x = times) any non-jackpot prize.
A Megaplier of 3X means that you will win ‘3 times’ any non-jackpot prize.
With 2 main numbers only you don’t win anything on Mega Millions. The Megaplier does not change this – so you would still win nothing. If you also have the Mega ball however then you win $10 multiplied by the Megaplier number (so $50 if it’s 5X for example).
Dalila Canales // Jul 17, 2022 at 12:13 am
Thank you for the Mega Millions tip.
Salla Jones // Jul 23, 2022 at 1:31 pm
Is playing the same Mega Millions numbers every week dumb? Doesn’t a super computer know all the numbers played & purposefully avoid using them?
LG // Jul 23, 2022 at 7:43 pm
I talk more about playing the same numbers here.
No, computer picks don’t avoid using numbers that have been played. They just allocate them randomly – simple as that. 🙂