What better way to start the new year than with a 10-figure winning lottery ticket? Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot is $1.15 billion, or $516.1 million in cash, the prize having surges since its last drawing on Christmas Eve when no winner took home the estimated $1 billion jackpot. If won, the prize would be the fifth largest jackpot in the game’s history.
This year, the Mega Millions has had only three winners, with the latest win over 100 days ago. The game has had one of the fewest jackpot wins in any single year since it started in 2002. The chances of winning any prize in the lottery game are 1 in 24, but the odds of winning a jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
However, some have raised concerns that the chances of winning are minuscule and that state lotteries siphon funds from impoverished communities under the guise of a chance to acquire wealth. A study found that in 2022, stores selling lottery tickets were disproportionately located in impoverished communities of every state, with proceeds going to far-off colleges and wealthy school districts, rather than to the community.
Despite this, the company says that half of the proceeds from each lottery ticket remain in the state where the ticket was sold to support “good causes and retailer commissions.” Ticket sales have grown from $47 billion to $82 billion, generating more revenue than corporate income taxes in ten states. The price of a ticket is $2, with the option to pay an additional $1 to multiply non-jackpot prizes. As of April 2025, the price will be increased to $5 per ticket in exchange for bigger prizes.
The winning numbers for the jackpot are announced every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. ET on the Mega Millions website, with Friday’s winning numbers to be posted shortly after the evening drawing.
