News writer
Massachusetts boasts the highest per capita lottery players by far, but they're clearly not unflappable when it comes to increasing prices.
Mega Millions rolled out major changes on Tuesday, more than doubling its ticket prices from $2 to $5. The lottery also announced higher odds of winning and other features to offset sticker shock.
It's still early to analyze overall player behavior due to the changes, but the Massachusetts State Lottery has already observed some palpable differences in the past few days.
Fewer tickets sold
On April 4, before the changes took place, 142,170 tickets were sold for a chance to win a $43 million jackpot, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery in an interview with WBZ-TV. On April 8, when the changes took effect, 100,297 tickets were sold for a chance to win a $54 million jackpot.
That marks a 30% decrease in ticket sales after the changes despite a higher jackpot.
More cash
But Mega Millions isn't hurting in Massachusetts - even if some players are ditching the game. Though fewer tickets were sold, the state raked in significantly more cash after the changes went into effect.
The April 4 drawing incurred $491,323 in sales, while the April 8 drawing brought in $841,185, an increase of 71%.
Lottery proceeds benefit local aid in various cities and towns, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
What were the changes?
In addition to increasing ticket prices, Mega Millions odds are now higher because one of the Mega Balls has been removed from the draw. Odds of winning the jackpot are now around 1 in 290.4 million, as opposed to a previous 1 in 302.6 million - a slight increase, while the odds of winning any prize jumped from 1 in 24 to 1 in 23. A random multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, or 10X will be automatically added to smaller prizes. The minimum prize is now $10.
Joshua Johnston, lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, stated:
Players who had won $2 in the old game will now take home $10, $15, $20, $25, or $50 under this game. Those who had won $500 under the old rules will now take home $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500 or $5,000 in this new game.
These changes took place nationally on April 8.
This is the game's second price adjustment since the game was launched 20 years ago, according to the statement.
What's next?
Nobody won Tuesday's big jackpot drawing, but five Massachusetts winners took home a $2,000 prize, a $1,500 prize, and three $1,000 prizes, with multipliers applied. The next draw is Friday, when the estimated jackpot will be $72 million.
Mark William Bracken, the executive director of the Massachusetts Lottery, told CBS News he's hopeful based on Tuesday's results. Bracken said:
As a result of the game's enhancements, including the built-in multiplier on all non-jackpot prizes, players took home more than double the amount in prizes compared to the previous drawing.
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