To play Mega Millions online you need to either pick yourself or allow a Quickpick computer programme to pick for you five different numbers from 1 to 56 (white balls) and one number from 1 to 46 (golden ball). Gold- coloured Mega Ball is drawn from a separate machine, so it can be a duplicate of one of the white ball numbers. The Mega Ball number cannot cross over to be used for matching a white ball number, or vice versa.
Your general chances to get any Mega Millions winning are 1 in 40. After Powerball has changed its rules on the 4th of January 2009, your chances to win Mega Millions jackpot are better than in Powerball, namely 1:176 million to 1:195 million. Information on other payouts and odds for the Mega Millions Lottery is summarised in the table below.
|
Match Normal balls
(pool of 56) and Mega ball
(pool of 46)
|
Prize
|
Odds
|
|
|
    + 
|
Grand Prize
|
1 in 175,711,536
|
|
    
|
$250,000
|
1 in 3,904,701
|
|
   + 
|
$10,000
|
1 in 689,065
|
|
   
|
$150
|
1 in 15,313
|
|
  + 
|
$150
|
1 in 13,781
|
|
  
|
$7
|
1 in 306
|
|
 + 
|
$10
|
1 in 844
|
|
+ 
|
$3
|
1 in 141
|
|

|
$2
|
1 in 75
|
|
|