Time for some myth busting in our special series Lottery Myth vs. Fact.
So, the jackpot is $550 million, and you want in! But, so do players in other Mega Millions states. Should you play?
It’s a common misconception that odds are worse when more people play or when jackpots are big, but it’s not true.
The odds of each of our jackpot games are the same for each drawing no matter the size of the jackpot or how many people play.
The odds are based on the game’s matrix, which is determined by the total numbers a player is allowed to select from the total numbers in the game.
Let’s use Classic Lotto as an example. Classic Lotto has a matrix of 6 numbers out of 49 numbers. The odds of selecting the exact six numbers drawn out of all the combinations of 6 numbers out of a field of 49 numbers is 1 in 13,983,816. These odds are the same for the starting jackpot of $1,000,000 as they are when the jackpot reaches $10,000,000.
Your odds also remain the same regardless of how many tickets are sold. Whether 5 people buy tickets or 5 million people buy tickets, your odds of winning never change.