Mega Millions FAQS

Mega Millions draws take place every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 PM ET.

In New Jersey, you must buy your Mega Millions ticket at least 15 minutes before the draw, so that's 10:45 PM ET on Tuesdays and Fridays. Any tickets purchased after this cutoff are automatically entered into the next applicable drawing.

First things first, you will have to pick five different numbers from 1 to 70 and choose one Mega Ball from 1-25 (which is drawn from a different ball set to the main numbers). You can also play the Megaplier add-on to multiply your winnings. Go to our How to Play page to learn more!

The Megaplier option is an additional feature that multiplies any non-jackpot winnings by a weighted random amount. It will boost your winnings by either 2, 3, 4, or 5 times depending on the Megaplier number drawn. Adding the Megaplier costs an additional $1 per play.

This is an optional feature available in New Jersey. If you select the Just the Jackpot box, your ticket will have two lines of Quick Pick numbers. These numbers can only win the jackpot; no runner-up prizes! You can play up to five games of Just the Jackpot on a single playslip, with each play costing $3 - that works out at $1.50 per line played.

Yes! In New Jersey you can use the MultiDraw field on your playslip to play your numbers in up to eight consecutive Mega Millions draws.

A single Mega Millions ticket costs $2, or $3 if the optional Megaplier has been added. There is room on each playslip for five plays.

The Mega Millions jackpot starts at $20 million and rolls over for every drawing that nobody wins it - the jackpot has risen as high as $1.6 billion before. Visit our Winners page to check some of the biggest New Jersey lottery winners.

The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24. However, the chances of winning the jackpot with a single ticket are 1 in 302,575,350. Visit our Odds and Prizes page for a full breakdown.

There are nine different prizes you can win in Mega Millions. Matching the Mega Ball number will win you the smallest prize of $2 - but matching all five numbers plus the Mega Ball will land you the jackpot! Remember, all non-jackpot prizes can also be boosted with the Megaplier add-on.

You have to be at least 18 years old to play Mega Millions in New Jersey, or any lottery for that matter.

You can cash in any prizes under $600 at a local New Jersey lottery retailer. For prizes over $600, you must file a claim form with the New Jersey Lottery. Visit our How to Claim page for more info.

New Jersey winners have one year from the date of the draw to claim their prize. After this, the ticket will expire and can no longer be redeemed.

Yes, New Jersey law allows its biggest winners to remain anonymous if they so wish.