Mega Millions Announces Huge Price Increase To Play Lottery Game

The cost of hopefully becoming a lottery winner will more than double when Mega Millions raises the price of each play from $2 to $5 in April.

In exchange for the hefty increase, the consortium behind the government-authorized gambling game is promising larger starting jackpots that will grow faster, as well as a "built-in" multiplier for lesser prizes.

"We expect more billion-dollar jackpots than ever before, meaning creating more billionaires and many more millionaires as the jackpots climb," Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement.

The new game will also feature unspecified "improved odds" of striking it rich by winning the jackpot.

Those odds are now 1 in 302.6 million, which exceeds the likelihood of being eaten by a shark, according to bookies.com.

The price increase is the first since the game was revamped in 2017 and the second since it was introduced in 1996 as the Big Game, according to the Mega Millions website.

Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands, with drawings conducted at 11 p.m. ET on Tuesdays and Fridays.