With lottery jackpots reaching record highs, many people are wondering which lottery game gives them the best chance to win big. While winning the lottery ultimately comes down to incredibly long odds, some lottery games have better odds than others. By looking at the odds, jackpot sizes, and other factors, we can determine which lottery tickets are most likely to pay out a huge jackpot prize.
Powerball vs. Mega Millions
In the United States, the two biggest national lottery games are Powerball and Mega Millions. Both games have produced jackpots over $1 billion in recent years. Powerball holds the record for the largest lottery jackpot in history at $1.586 billion in January 2016. However, Mega Millions reached a staggering $1.537 billion in October 2018, so it has achieved jackpots of similar size.
Powerball and Mega Millions have comparable overall odds of winning any prize, with about a 1 in 24 chance of winning something. The odds of winning the jackpot, however, differ slightly. For Powerball, the odds are 1 in 292,201,338, while Mega Millions is slightly better at 1 in 302,575,350.
Both games require players to match 5 main numbers from a pool of 69 (for Powerball) or 70 (for Mega Millions), as well as an additional Powerball or Mega Ball number from a separate pool. For matching all six numbers, the starting guaranteed jackpot is $40 million for Powerball and $20 million for Mega Millions. However, jackpots grow to much larger amounts by rolling over when there is no grand prize winner.
Overall, Powerball and Mega Millions offer similar jackpot size potential and extremely long odds. Mega Millions has slightly better odds, but Powerball still holds the world record jackpot. For huge jackpot chases, either game offers essentially equivalent chances.
State Lottery Games
In addition to the big national games, most states in the U.S. also offer their own lottery games. These games have varying rules and odds, smaller starting jackpots, and fewer overall players compared to massive games like Powerball and Mega Millions.
One state lottery game that is known for producing big jackpots is SuperLotto Plus in California. Its starting jackpot is $7 million, smaller than Powerball or Mega Millions. The odds of hitting the SuperLotto Plus jackpot are around 1 in 41 million. This game has posted some notable jackpots in past years, including a $193 million prize in 2003, $224 million in 2005, and $193 million in 2010. However, it does not offer prizes reaching nearly the size as the billion-dollar jackpots seen in top national games.
Other state lottery games also follow similar patterns. They offer bigger jackpots than regular scratch-offs and draw games, but still pale in comparison the top national lotteries. Games like Cash4Life, Florida Lotto, and Mega Hits have all awarded jackpots between $20-60 million in recent years. But they do not advertise potential jackpots in the hundreds of millions or more, like Powerball and Mega Millions.
For the absolute biggest jackpots, players are best served playing Powerball, Mega Millions, or both. State lottery games offer better odds but much lower top prize potential.
Scratch-Off Games
Scratch-off lottery tickets offer a different lottery experience compared to draw games like Powerball. With scratch-offs, players scratch off a coating on the ticket rather than waiting for periodic drawings. Prizes listed on scratch-off tickets range from small amounts like $1 up through millions for the top prizes.
Scratch-offs tend to have better posted odds than major draw games. For example, a $1 scratch ticket may have odds of 1 in 4.5 to win any prize. However, the odds of winning a top prize jackpot on a scratch game are often similar to Powerball and Mega Millions, in the range of 1 in 200,000 to 1 in several million. While players have decent odds to win something small or break even, scratch games offer very long shot chances at a jackpot.
Some premium scratch tickets costing $20 or more promote potential top prizes of $5 million, $10 million, or even $15 million. These prizes seem to rival Powerball and Mega Millions. However, these big scratch prizes are fixed amounts that do not grow through rollovers. Once the top prize is claimed on a scratch game, it is over and cannot increase further. Multi-state draw games have essentially unlimited jackpot potential by continuing to roll over.
For chasing huge jackpots, scratch-off games provide much more limited potential than Powerball or Mega Millions. The odds of hitting a fixed top scratch prize are similar to the draw games but the jackpots cannot compete in size.
Which Game Gives the Best Chance at a Jackpot?
When looking across all the different lottery games and their odds, Powerball and Mega Millions stand at the top for offering the biggest potential jackpot wins.
Here is a comparison of the games reviewed:
Game | Starting Jackpot | Record Jackpot | Odds of Winning Jackpot |
---|---|---|---|
Powerball | $40 million | $1.586 billion | 1 in 292 million |
Mega Millions | $20 million | $1.537 billion | 1 in 302 million |
SuperLotto Plus | $7 million | $193 million | 1 in 41 million |
Scratch Games | Varies | Up to $15 million | Around 1 in 4 million |
While SuperLotto Plus and scratch games offer better odds, their jackpot potential tops out far lower than Powerball or Mega Millions. These massive multi-state games can build jackpots to astronomical levels by accumulating countless players and rollovers. They also hold the official records for the biggest jackpot payouts in American lottery history.
If exclusively focused on chasing a mind-blowing jackpot, Powerball and Mega Millions are clearly the games that provide the most potential to win a massive windfall. The odds are extremely long but someone eventually always wins when the jackpot grows large enough.
Should You Play Powerball or Mega Millions?
Powerball and Mega Millions offer essentially equal jackpot potential and equivalent long-shot odds. Some differences:
- Mega Millions has slightly better jackpot odds at 1 in 302 million to 1 in 292 million for Powerball.
- Mega Millions offers a $1 prize for matching the Mega Ball number. There is no secondary prize for matching just the Powerball in Powerball.
- Powerball drawings are held Wednesday and Saturday nights, while Mega Millions drawings take place Tuesday and Friday evenings.
- Powerball is played in 45 states, while Mega Millions tickets are sold in 45 states plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
These distinctions are minor. Both games offer fundamentally the same experience of playing for a chance at an enormous rolling jackpot. Overall ticket sales and participation is often similar as well.
For those focused solely on chasing the biggest possible jackpot, the best option is to play both Powerball and Mega Millions. Buying one ticket for each drawing doubles the number of chances to win per week. Several past jackpot winners attributed their wins to routinely playing both lottery games.
Playing both games provides the maximum coverage for catching the next record-setting lottery jackpot.
Should You Play at All?
While Powerball and Mega Millions provide the best shot at a jackpot, the odds are overwhelmingly against winning. Playing lottery games should be done strictly for entertainment, with the understanding that the most likely outcome is losing your money spent on tickets.
Never spend money on lotteries that you cannot comfortably afford to lose. Be sure to play responsibly and within a budget. Lotteries like Powerball and Mega Millions can sometimes lead to compulsive gambling when taken too far.
That being said, for many people, buying the occasional lottery ticket is harmless entertainment and brings some excitement. Dreaming about what you would do if you won a $1 billion prize can be fun in moderation.
Evaluate your own motivations and conduct a reality check about your chance of winning to decide if playing the lottery has an appropriate place in your life.
Conclusions
In summary, Powerball and Mega Millions offer the biggest jackpot potential due to their ability to roll over and accumulate huge pools of players. State lottery games and scratch tickets provide much more modest maximum prizes despite somewhat better odds. To maximize the chances of winning a record jackpot, play both of the major national lottery games. But always keep your personal entertainment budget and the nearly impossibly slim odds of winning in mind.