PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Some big changes are coming soon for the Mega Millions lottery game , whether or not the South Dakota Lottery Commission or any other state that sells the tickets agrees with them.
Norm Lingle, the South Dakota Lottery’s executive director, on Thursday outlined what’s ahead. He said the changes will take effect April 5, 2025.
They include: The $2 ticket price that’s been in place since 2017 will go up to $5 starting that day.
As part of the ticket price increase, the current $1 “Megaplier” option that multiplies the value of nonjackpot prizes by up to five times will be dropped. Replacing it will be a new computer-generated multiplier for each and every ticket that increases the value of nonjackpot prizes by as much as 10 times.
Goldman Sachs forecasts steady home price hikes
The ticket grid will also slightly change, and so will the odds, with both improving a bit in favor of the player. The odds of winning a jackpot currently are one in 302.6 million. With the change, the new odds for a jackpot will be one in 278.4 million. The odds of winning any kind of prize also will slightly improve, from 1 in 24 to 1 in 22.15.