What is the difference between fixed and pari-mutuel prizes?
In every other state that sells Powerball, the prizes below the jackpot are fixed. Match all five white balls and you get $1 million; match four plus the Powerball and you get $50,000, however many other tickets do the same.
California is the exception. The official Powerball prize chart says: "In California, prize payout amounts are pari-mutuel and determined by sales and the number of winners." Each tier in California is a pool. A share of California's sales goes into each prize level, and that night's winners in the tier split it equally. If few people win a tier, each gets more than the amount shown on the national chart. If many do, each gets less.
The Mega Millions prize chart carries the same warning: "Prize amounts in California are paid on a pari-mutuel basis and will differ from the fixed prize amounts shown here."
Why does California pay prizes this way?
The reason lies in how the California State Lottery Act of 1984 divides the money. Government Code section 8880.4 sets the lottery's budget as percentages of total annual revenue: at least 87% must go back to the public as prizes and money for public education, prizes can't be less than 50%, and expenses can't exceed 13%. The law sets shares of sales, not dollar amounts for any prize.
Pari-mutuel prizes fit that structure. A fixed-prize game can pay out more than planned on an unlucky night, when an unusual number of tickets win a guaranteed amount. A pari-mutuel game only ever pays out what its pools hold, so the prize share stays a predictable percentage of sales and the education share isn't squeezed. A separate section of the same law, section 8880.68, bars state and local taxes on lottery prizes, which is why California doesn't tax lottery winnings.
How does pari-mutuel change your California ticket?
California tickets don't offer Power Play. A multiplier promises a multiple of a fixed prize, and California has no fixed prizes to multiply, so the add-on explained in our Power Play guide isn't sold there. Mega Millions now builds a multiplier into every $5 play, but in California the prize paid is still that tier's pari-mutuel share.
The national prize amounts are only a guide. What each tier actually pays in California is known only after the draw. A Match 5 can come in well above $1 million on a night with heavy sales and few winners, and below it when many tickets share the tier.
The jackpot works the same way everywhere. It's shared in every state, and multiple jackpot winners split it, as covered in what happens when two people win. California simply applies the same principle all the way down the prize table.
How much do California prizes vary?
California's own games are paid the same way, and the swings show up clearly in the results data on this site. In September 2026:
- a winning straight play on Daily 3 Evening paid between $264 and $732, depending on the night;
- matching 4 of 5 on Fantasy 5 paid between $252 and $551;
- matching 3 of 5 on Fantasy 5 paid between $10 and $16.
In a state with fixed prizes, each of those tiers would pay the same amount every night. SuperLotto Plus works the same way. The draw pages linked from our California results page list what each tier paid for that drawing.
Is pari-mutuel better or worse for players?
Neither, on average. The prize share of sales is set by law either way, so the system changes how the money is divided, not how much goes back as prizes. On any single draw it can help or hurt you.
It hurts when you share a popular combination. If many players pick the same numbers in a daily game and they come up, all of them split one pool, and each share is smaller than a fixed prize would have been. That's the main practical reason to avoid very common picks such as birthdays and simple patterns; how to pick lottery numbers explains why.
It helps when you win a tier that few other people hit, especially on a night with heavy sales. Then the pool is large and your share can beat what a fixed prize would have paid.
For claim deadlines in California, see how long you have to claim a California prize.
California pari-mutuel prizes FAQ
Why are California lottery prizes pari-mutuel?
California's lottery law sets prizes, education funding and expenses as percentages of sales rather than dollar amounts, and the California Lottery pays each prize tier from a pool split among that draw's winners. That keeps payouts in line with sales.
Does Powerball's $1 million Match 5 prize apply in California?
Not as a fixed amount. In California the Match 5 tier is a pool split among that draw's winners, so it can pay more than $1 million when winners are few and sales are high, or less when many tickets hit the tier.
Why doesn't California offer Power Play?
Power Play multiplies fixed prizes, and California's pari-mutuel prizes aren't fixed. Mega Millions' built-in multiplier is on every ticket, but California prizes are still paid as pari-mutuel shares.
Is pari-mutuel payout better or worse for players?
On average it's neither, because the prize share of sales is set by law. Per draw, shares shrink when many players win a tier and grow when few do, so avoiding very popular number combinations matters a little more in California.
Sources: Powerball prize chart (powerball.com); Mega Millions how to play (megamillions.com); California Government Code sections 8880, 8880.4 and 8880.68; California prize amounts for September 2026 from the draw data on this site.
