The rules will change on 28th October and the price of a ticket will be adjusted from $1 to $2. Players will still select five main numbers, but the ball pool will go down from 75 to 70. The choice of Mega Balls will increase from 15 to 25, lengthening the odds of winning the jackpot from 1 in 258.9 million to 302.6 million. The odds of winning the $1 million prize in the second tier will improve, from 1 in 18.5 million to 1 in 12.6 million, although the overall chances of getting a prize will go from 1 in 14.7 to 1 in 24.
Players who win in the third prize tier and match four main numbers plus the Mega Ball will now receive $10,000 rather than $5,000, while the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth-level prizes will all be at least doubled.
Another new feature, called Just the Jackpot, will see participants pay $3 for two lines. However, they will only win a prize if they match all five main numbers and the Mega Ball and will not be eligible for non-jackpot prizes. It will be up to individual states to decide whether they wish to offer this option.
The changes have been announced to help states raise more money for local good causes and create larger jackpots. The record for the top prize stands at $656 million, which was split between three ticket holders from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland in March 2012.
The big jackpots have kept coming over the past five years and the changes should ensure that the top prize regularly climbs to astronomical amounts, with fans able to get involved by picking their numbers online or visiting authorised retailers in participating states.
