Mega Millions Timeline
From its original incarnation as The Big Game in 1996 to its modern-day version, Mega Millions has become one of the biggest and most popular lotteries in the world. Use the timeline below to learn all about how the game has evolved, when record-breaking jackpots have been won and other key events from Mega Millions history.
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Tickets went on sale for The Big Game after six lotteries signed up for a new multi-state game - Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia. Players had to choose five main numbers from 1 to 50 and an extra number between 1 and 25.
The first Big Game draw was held. Draws initially took place once a week, on a Friday. A Tuesday draw was later introduced on February 10, 1998.
New Jersey became the seventh state to join the game. Another big change in 1999 saw the ball pool for the extra number increase from 25 to 36, leading to fewer jackpot winners and bigger prizes.
The lottery was rebranded as The Big Game Mega Millions, with the matrix changed again to 5/52 + 1/52. Tickets went on sale in New York and Ohio, and the historic drawing saw someone win the jackpot - Samuel Rice and The Rice Partnership of Chatham, Illinois, landed $28 million.
Washington joined the game, becoming Mega Millions' tenth participating state.
Mega Millions arrived in Texas, and one player from the Lone Star State matched the five main numbers to win $175,000. The Texas Lottery was the first to offer the Megaplier feature, creating the opportunity to boost non-jackpot prizes.
The California Lottery started selling Mega Millions tickets, while the matrix changed again to 5/56 + 1/46.
One of the most remarkable draws in Mega Millions history took place as it created four jackpot winners. The $330 million prize was split between John and Sandy Belawsky of New Jersey, Bernard and Tucker Adcock of Virginia, SB Alchemy Holdings, Ltd. of Texas and Ellwood Bartlett or Maryland. This is the most winners there has ever been in a single draw.
A historic cross-selling agreement came into effect which allowed states to offer both Powerball and Mega Millions. Previously, state lotteries had only been permitted to have one or the other, but the Mega Millions consortium and the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) struck a deal to enable the expansion. This led to 23 more states joining Mega Millions, all of which offered the Megaplier option.
Montana joined Mega Millions - the first of seven more states to enter the game in the space of two and a half months. By May 16, 2010, Nebraska, Oregon, Arizona, Maine, Colorado and South Dakota had also begun to sell tickets, taking the number of participating states at this time to 42.
The growth of Mega Millions continued as it made its way to the U.S. Virgin Islands - the first territory outside of mainland USA to be a part of the game.
Louisiana became the 44th lottery to start selling Mega Millions tickets.
A jackpot of $656 million was put up for grabs - the largest to have been seen on any lottery in the world at the time. Three ticket holders shared the money - Merle and Patricia Butler from Illinois, the Three Amigos group from Maryland, and an anonymous player from Kansas.
Mega Millions arrived in Florida. First-day sales in the Sunshine State totaled more than $839,000, higher than any other MUSL member's first-day sales in the game's history.
The format of the game was updated once again, with the number range for the main balls becoming 1-75. The range of Mega Balls was reduced from 46 to 15. The second prize was also increased from $250,000 to $1 million.
Wyoming became the latest place where you could play Mega Millions, having only set up its state lottery the previous year.
The game was overhauled as the matrix changed to 5/70 + 1/25. The prize values in most other categories were also increased, as Mega Millions bosses aimed to create even more big winners.
Mega Millions turned into 'Mega Billions' as the jackpot reached 10 figures for the first time in history. One lucky ticket holder, an anonymous player from South Carolina, pocketed $1.537 billion and smashed the record for the game's biggest-ever winner up to that point.
Mississippi became the 47th participating member of Mega Millions, with tickets going on sale just two months after the MS Lottery was launched in November 2019.
As Coronavirus swept through the U.S. and strict restrictions hit ticket sales, the minimum jackpot of $40 million was removed. There were also no guarantees that the jackpot would increase by at least $5 million between draws. Despite the unprecedented circumstances, draws were never suspended and there continued to be big winners throughout 2020.
A new record was set for the largest Mega Millions jackpot of all time as it climbed above $1.6 billion following a run of 31 drawings without a winner. A player from Florida emerged as the lucky ticket holder who ended the wait for a win, claiming through the Saltines Holdings, LLC.
Major changes were introduced to improve the odds and drive up jackpots. The Mega Ball number range was reduced from 25 to 24, the ticket cost went from $2 to $5 and the minimum jackpot was raised to $50 million. The optional Megaplier was replaced by a built-in multiplier - increasing non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times the base amount and making the minimum prize $10.