November 6, 2023

The Massachusetts State Lottery’s Megabucks game is being redesigned to bring more value to players, with better odds of winning, a higher average jackpot, and bigger payouts for all levels of non-jackpot prizes. There will also be an additional opportunity every week to play and win, with a Monday drawing joining the current lineup of Wednesday and Saturday drawings.

By reducing the amount of numbers to choose from in the game from 49 to 44, the odds of winning the jackpot and all other prize tiers will improve significantly. View game matrix here. Players will still select six numbers and will win a prize by matching three, four, five or all six winning numbers. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game will improve from 1 in 54 to 1 in 39.3.

The Megabucks game will no longer include a “Doubler” component and the ticket price will change from $1 to $2. All non-jackpot prizes will double and the starting jackpot will remain $500,000. All changes go into effect Sunday, November 12 and the first drawing with the new format will be Monday, November 13.

“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.

The original Megabucks game launched in November of 1982. Since then, the game has undergone multiple changes, evolving into the most recent Megabucks Doubler format in 2009.

The largest jackpot in Megabucks or Megabucks Doubler history is $21.7 million, split among eight winning tickets in the game’s October 16, 1985 drawing. At the time, it was the third largest jackpot in U.S. history. The largest jackpot won on a single ticket in Megabucks or Megabucks Doubler history is $16.35 million, won in the September 10, 2022 drawing on a ticket sold in Ware. The jackpot was last hit October 3, when an $11.7 million jackpot was won on a ticket sold at Joe’s Kwik Mart, 251 E. Central St. in Franklin.

Megabucks drawings take place at 9 p.m. and can be seen live with the Evening Numbers Game and Mass Cash drawings on the Mass Lottery’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.