Mega Millions is drawn twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, at the WSB-TV studio in Atlanta, Georgia. There's a single drawing for all 47 lotteries that sell the game, so the winning numbers are the same wherever you bought your ticket.
What time is the Mega Millions drawing?
The drawing takes place at 11:00 p.m. ET every Tuesday and Friday, every week of the year, holidays included. Here's what time that is in each time zone of the mainland U.S.:
| Time zone | Drawing time |
|---|---|
| Eastern | 11:00 p.m. |
| Central | 10:00 p.m. |
| Mountain | 9:00 p.m. |
| Pacific | 8:00 p.m. |
When ticket sales close
Each lottery sets its own cutoff, so the last minute to buy depends on your state. In Georgia, for example, sales stop at 10:45 p.m. ET; other states close earlier. Tickets sold after the cutoff are for the next drawing.
Online sales can close earlier than stores, and when the jackpot is high both lines and websites get busy. If you want to play a particular drawing, buy your ticket well before the cutoff. Every state's cutoff is in Mega Millions states.
Where the drawing takes place
Every Mega Millions drawing is held at the WSB-TV studio in Atlanta, Georgia, the city where the Georgia Lottery, one of the six lotteries that founded the game in 1996, is based. Players in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands all take part in that one drawing.
Every drawing is broadcast, and the official Mega Millions website posts the video of each one under Watch Latest Drawing, so you can see the balls come out even if you missed it live.
How the drawing works, step by step
- The drawing machines and ball sets for the night are picked at random and certified by outside auditors, so that every number has the same chance of being drawn.
- Each machine and ball set goes through a series of pre-drawing tests to check that the results are random.
- Two lottery draw officials and a member of an independent auditing firm run and watch the whole process.
- The first machine draws five white balls from a set of 70.
- The second machine draws one gold Mega Ball from a set of 24.
The drawing itself takes less than a minute; the whole process, tests included, takes about three hours. Between drawings, the equipment is kept secure and only draw officials have access to it.
No multiplier is drawn. Since April 2025, each play's multiplier is assigned at random when the ticket is bought and printed on it. Before that, the Megaplier was drawn separately. Both systems are explained in the Mega Millions multiplier.
What happens after the drawing
The winning numbers are published on the official Mega Millions website and by every state lottery. Each lottery then reports how many winning tickets it sold in each tier, which gives the full prize breakdown, and the jackpot estimate for the next drawing is announced.
We post the winning numbers and the Mega Ball after each drawing, followed by the prize breakdown. The latest result is on the home page, past drawings are in results, and you can check your own numbers in the ticket checker.
104 or 105 drawings a year
With two drawings a week, a year has 104 drawings, or 105 when the calendar has one more Tuesday or Friday than usual. Mega Millions never draws on the same night as Powerball, which is drawn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays; how the two games compare is in Mega Millions vs Powerball.
How long you have to claim
Claim deadlines are set by each lottery and run from 90 days to one year from the drawing date. Each state's deadline is in Mega Millions states.
If a jackpot isn't claimed in time, each participating lottery gets back the money it contributed to it. Each state decides what to do with its unclaimed prizes, typically funding state programs, promotions or additional prizes. The full claim process is in how to claim a Mega Millions prize.
Who runs Mega Millions
Mega Millions isn't a company: it's a consortium of state lotteries, not a legal entity of its own. The lotteries agree on the rules, the jackpot and the drawing together, and each one sells tickets, pays prizes and applies its own laws in its territory. That's why cutoffs, claim deadlines and taxes vary from state to state, while the numbers and the jackpot are the same for everyone.
Frequently asked questions
What time is the Mega Millions drawing?
Every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time: 10:00 p.m. Central, 9:00 p.m. Mountain and 8:00 p.m. Pacific.
Where is Mega Millions drawn?
At the WSB-TV studio in Atlanta, Georgia. The same drawing applies to all 47 lotteries that sell the game.
Until what time can I buy a ticket?
It depends on your state: each lottery sets its own cutoff. In Georgia sales stop at 10:45 p.m. ET, and other states close earlier. Tickets bought after the cutoff go into the next drawing. Every state's cutoff is in Mega Millions states.
Is there a drawing on holidays?
Yes. Mega Millions is drawn every Tuesday and Friday of the year, including when a holiday falls on one of those days.
Is the multiplier drawn with the numbers?
No. Since April 2025 the multiplier is assigned to each play when you buy the ticket, and it's printed on it.
Last reviewed: . Independent information: official results are published by the lottery that runs the game.