Mega Millions began in 1996 as The Big Game, a lottery shared by six states. Three decades later it's sold by 47 lotteries and has paid some of the biggest jackpots in the world. This is how it got there.
1996: The Big Game
The game launched on August 31, 1996, as The Big Game, and its first drawing took place on September 6, 1996. Six state lotteries took part: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia.
A play cost $1, and players picked five numbers from 1 to 50 plus one from 1 to 25. At first there was a single drawing a week, on Fridays.
The first years: a second drawing and a cash option
The Big Game added a Tuesday drawing in February 1998, the schedule Mega Millions still follows. In January 1999 the pool for the extra ball grew from 25 to 36 numbers, and winners were given a cash option for the first time. New Jersey joined in May 1999, becoming the seventh member.
In 2000, The Big Game paid a record $363 million jackpot, and interest in multi-state lotteries reached an all-time high.
2002: The Big Game becomes Mega Millions
In May 2002, New York and Ohio joined and the game was renamed The Big Game Mega Millions, known today simply as Mega Millions. The number pools grew to five from 1 to 52 plus one from 1 to 52, and the first drawing of the new game was held on May 17, 2002. Washington became the tenth member that September.
Growing across the country
Texas joined in December 2003 and California, the twelfth member, in June 2005. That same month the number pools changed again, to five from 1 to 56 plus one from 1 to 46.
2010: Mega Millions and Powerball in the same stores
For years, a state could sell either Mega Millions or Powerball, but not both. In October 2009 the two groups of lotteries agreed to sell each other's games, and on January 31, 2010, the cross-selling agreement took effect: 23 more state lotteries joined Mega Millions at once.
Other lotteries joined over the following years, up to today's 47: 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The states that sell neither game are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah.
The era of record jackpots
With more players came bigger jackpots. On March 30, 2012, Mega Millions paid $656 million, split between tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland: at the time, the largest prize in any jackpot game in the world.
The first billion-dollar Mega Millions jackpot came on October 23, 2018: $1.537 billion, won with a single ticket sold in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The current record, $1.602 billion, was won in Florida on August 8, 2023. The full list is in the biggest Mega Millions jackpots.
2025: the $5 game
On October 7, 2024, the consortium announced the biggest overhaul in the game's history. It launched on April 5, 2025, with the first drawing on April 8, 2025: a $5 play with a multiplier on every ticket, a starting jackpot of $50 million and a Mega Ball pool reduced from 25 to 24 numbers. Every change along the way, with its odds, is in Mega Millions historical changes.
How Mega Millions is run today
Mega Millions is a consortium of state lotteries, not a company or a legal entity. Its members set the rules and the jackpot together, while each lottery sells tickets, pays prizes and decides where its share of the money goes. Half of all sales is paid back to players in prizes. How states use the rest is explained in where Mega Millions money goes.
The drawings are held at the WSB-TV studio in Atlanta, the city where the Georgia Lottery, one of the six founding members, is based. Details in time and place of the drawing.
Mega Millions timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| September 6, 1996 | First drawing of The Big Game, with six states |
| February 1998 | A Tuesday drawing is added to the Friday one |
| January 1999 | Bigger number pool for the extra ball and a cash option |
| May 1999 | New Jersey joins as the seventh member |
| 2000 | Record $363 million Big Game jackpot |
| May 2002 | New York and Ohio join and the game is renamed Mega Millions |
| June 2005 | California joins; new number pools |
| January 31, 2010 | Cross-selling with Powerball: 23 more lotteries join |
| March 30, 2012 | $656 million jackpot, a world record at the time |
| October 2013 | New pools: 5 from 1 to 75 plus 1 from 1 to 15 |
| October 2017 | $2 play; 5 from 1 to 70 plus 1 from 1 to 25 |
| October 23, 2018 | First billion-dollar jackpot: $1.537 billion |
| August 8, 2023 | Record jackpot: $1.602 billion |
| April 8, 2025 | $5 play with a built-in multiplier and a $50 million starting jackpot |
Frequently asked questions
When did Mega Millions start?
As The Big Game, on August 31, 1996, with its first drawing on September 6 of that year. It took the Mega Millions name in May 2002.
Which states started Mega Millions?
Six: Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia.
When did Mega Millions and Powerball start being sold in the same states?
On January 31, 2010, when the cross-selling agreement between the two games took effect. That day, 23 more state lotteries started selling Mega Millions.
Who owns Mega Millions?
No single organization. Mega Millions is a consortium of the state lotteries that sell it, not a legal entity of its own. Each lottery sells tickets and pays prizes in its own state.
Last reviewed: . Independent information: official results are published by the lottery that runs the game.