How to play Mega Millions?

Is your dream to win the lottery? If so, you have many different options - and Mega Millions is one of them!

What is Mega Millions?

Mega Millions is a drawing that occurs twice each week and gives players the opportunity to win a jackpot or other cash prizes. Each ticket costs $2. Every Mega Millions jackpot grows until the jackpot is won. Any Mega Millions jackpot can be won by a single individual or by multiple people. 

When are the Mega Millions drawings?

Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. You can see the results of each drawing on our website or take your ticket to any Lottery retailer — they can scan it and tell you if you've got a winner. The Lottery stops selling Mega Millions tickets at 10:45 p.m. on draw nights, so get your tickets early! Mega Millions tickets and online plays cannot be canceled, and all sales are final.

Create an account to play now!

You can open a Virginia Lottery account to play Mega Millions online, so you’ll never miss a chance to win big!

Set up a MyGameRoom account  and have some fun today! Even if you don’t win, you’re still helping students in Virginia because 100 percent of the Virginia Lottery’s profits have been used to support K-12 public education since 1999.

Game play

Click for a closer view of the playslip.

• Choose your own numbers on a playslip. Pick five different numbers from 1 through 70; then select one Mega Ball number from 1 through 25.
• You can also play Easy Pick and let the computer choose your numbers.
• Use a combination of these play methods - pick some of your favorite numbers and let the computer fill in the rest.
• Each ticket costs $2.
• Mega Millions draws are held Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m.
• All prizes, except the jackpot, are fixed dollar amounts. The jackpot total is dependent on the amount of money in the draw's prize pool.

Bigger game with Megaplier

Step up your game with Megaplier, a great add-on feature that multiplies a non-jackpot prize by 2, 3, 4 or 5! Megaplier can increase your winnings up to $5,000,000! Add Megaplier to any Mega Millions ticket for $1 per play. The Megaplier number is randomly drawn before each Mega Millions draw show - so it won't appear on your ticket when you buy it.

Play options

It's always great to have options, so mark the Optional Plays box on your playslip for any of the following:

• Want to play the same numbers for more than one draw on a single ticket? A Multi-Draw ticket lets you play up to 26 consecutive draws on one ticket. Please keep in mind that the ticket price increases for each draw you add.
• Thinking ahead to a special date? You can buy one ticket for a future draw date. It's called a Future draw. Mark the Optional Plays box on your playslip, and let the clerk know which future draw date you have in mind.
• Love those numbers so much you want them on more than one ticket? You can Repeat your play and have the same numbers printed on more than one ticket up to 20 times.
• Tell your clerk which option you want when you present your playslip. Keep in mind that playing in more than one draw increases the ticket price by the number of draws you choose.
• Just the Jackpot: You can get two Easy Pick plays that each give you the chance to win only the jackpot prize. The two plays together cost $3, which saves you $1. Look at and fill out the bottom of the playslip to play for Just the Jackpot. Available at retail stores only.

Two chances to win per week

Mega Millions draws are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you play Mega Millions:

• We stop selling Mega Millions tickets at 10:45 p.m. on draw nights - so get your tickets early!
• Virginia's Mega Millions tickets and online plays cannot be canceled and all sales are final! We recommend using a playslip to ensure that your numbers are correct.
• When using optional plays, make sure you tell your clerk which option(s) you prefer – Multi- Draw, Future or Repeat.
• Any winning tickets bought in Virginia must be redeemed in Virginia.

Watch the draws

You can watch Mega Millions Draws live every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. by clicking the Winning Numbers tab at the top of the page. You can even watch them later. Draws stay on our site!

Never miss a draw

Play the easy way! Purchase multiple draws at a time to stay in the game, and select the Auto-Renewal option to make sure you never miss a draw. Forget about waiting in lines or even checking your tickets – if you win, we'll contact you! Simply click here to get started! We currently are limiting the number of consecutive drawings that can be purchased online.

Get game information from Alexa!

If you download the Virginia Lottery Alexa Skill, you can ask Alexa for information about this game including recent winning numbers and more.

Legal stuff

Immediately following the drawing on April 3, 2020, the next new starting jackpot and the rate at which the jackpot increases will be established based on game sales and interest rates, with no fixed minimum amount. Subsequent jackpot amounts will be determined and announced prior to each drawing.

Need more info? Here are our official rules for Mega Millions! Mega Millions amendment.

Winning 

Mega Millions prizes and odds

Increase Your Prize with Megaplier for an additional $1 per play

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. If prize liability exceeds the Mega Millions liability cap, the $1 million and $5,000 prizes may be paid on a parimutuel basis and may be lower than published amounts. Refer to the official game rules for detailed explanation.

*The jackpot prize is not affected by Megaplier and will remain unchanged.

**Each drawing contains 15 Megaplier balls. within each drawing, 5 balls have a Megaplier of 2x, 6 balls have a Megaplier of 3x, three balls have a Megaplier of 4x, and one ball has a Megaplier of 5x.