How to Play Mega Millions

How to play Mega Millions, step by step

1. Get a ticket from a licensed lottery retailer in a state that sells Mega Millions, or through your state lottery's official app or website if it sells tickets online.
2. Pick 5 numbers from 1–70 plus a Mega Ball from 1–24, or ask for a Quick Pick and the terminal chooses at random. Our quick pick generator does the same thing if you'd rather bring a line with you.
3. Pay $5 per play (multiplier included). There is no add-on to buy. Since April 2025 every play includes a multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X, assigned at random when you buy and printed on the ticket, and it applies to every non-jackpot prize.
4. Keep the ticket and check it after the drawing. Drawings are held Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 PM ET, and each state sets its own cut-off for sales before the draw.

If you win

Sign the back of the ticket. Smaller prizes can usually be cashed at a lottery retailer in the state that sold the ticket; each state sets how much a retailer can pay out, and larger prizes are claimed through the state lottery itself. A jackpot winner chooses between the annuity (30 payments over 29 years) and a one-time cash payment, and the FAQ explains the difference. Claim deadlines run from 90 days to one year, depending on the state.

Checking results

Winning numbers usually appear on our Mega Millions results page within minutes of each drawing. Each drawing links to its prize breakdown, and the jackpot history tracks how the jackpot has grown and reset.