Mega Millions is rethinking what winning looks like

For most of its history, winning Mega Millions meant one thing: a check. A bigger jackpot was the whole pitch. That definition is starting to shift, and the person overseeing the shift is Harjinder K. Shergill Chima, Director of the California Lottery and newly elected Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium.

Mega Millions is run by nine state lotteries with no central office and no single boss — "a highly collaborative model that leverages the strengths of different organizations while maintaining the integrity and consistency of the game," as Shergill Chima describes it. Her job is to keep that nine-state machine pointed in the same direction. Right now, much of that direction points toward one question: what does a player actually want to win? Shergill Chima explained in our exclusive interview:

The role is less about directing from the top and more about bringing together diverse perspectives. It's about keeping a complex, multi-state organization aligned and moving forward.

A jackpot isn't the only prize anymore

Cash will never disappear from the equation. But Shergill Chima is candid about wanting more than a number on a ticket. She expressed:

While cash prizes will always be at the heart of what we do, unique experiences can create a different kind of excitement and engagement for players.

Think VIP sports packages, celebrity meetups, or influencer-backed rewards. She continued:

There's a real opportunity to create moments that resonate with winners in a more personal way and with broader audiences too.

The appeal isn't limited to the person holding the winning ticket either:

What I particularly like about experiential prizes is that they often generate enthusiasm well beyond the winner. Those moments often create authentic stories people want to share.

And those stories work, where a press release can't.

Experiential prizes drive organic social media engagement, earned media opportunities, and awareness of the game in ways traditional marketing can't always replicate.

However, she won't commit to specifics yet:

I wouldn't want to speculate on any specific future initiatives. What I can say is that I believe there's significant runway to be more creative in how we think about prizes and player engagement.

Built for a generation that wasn't raised on scratch-offs

The push toward experiential prizes isn't happening in a vacuum. Lottery tickets are competing for the same dollars as sports betting apps and mobile games, and the players who'll define the next decade of Mega Millions grew up with both in their pockets.

Shergill Chima doesn't think the answer is starting over:

I don't believe the next generation of players wants something completely different. They want experiences that are engaging, authentic, and shareable.

That's certainly a different bar than a bigger number on a billboard. She continued:

I think there's a tremendous opportunity for Mega Millions to continue evolving in ways that resonate with younger audiences while preserving the excitement and integrity that have made the game successful for decades.

Evolving doesn't mean loosening up everywhere, though. Growth, she elaborated, has to happen "while ensuring we remain true to our mission and operate responsibly" — a line she returns to whenever the conversation turns to chasing relevance.

The $5 ticket already rewrote the math

Reshaping the prize is the next chapter. The last one already happened. In April 2025, Mega Millions raised ticket prices to $5, enlarged jackpots, and built in a multiplier. It was the biggest structural overhaul in the game's history.

What stuck with Shergill Chima was the pace:

Changes of that magnitude don't happen quickly, and they aren't driven by any one state or individual. Everyone comes to the table with different perspectives based on their players, markets, and operational considerations, and those perspectives are carefully considered throughout the process.

The early results are mixed, by her own account. For jackpots under $400 million, sales have outperformed the old game at equivalent levels, and spending per ticket has jumped across the board. In California, the average transaction at $300 million jackpots climbed from $5.07 to $9.25. But the rollover luck hasn't cooperated.

The biggest jackpot to date, after the rule changes, has topped out at $980 million, short of the headline numbers the new structure was designed to produce. Her team ran 10,000 simulations of a year's worth of draws and found the actual outcome landed in the 13th percentile, meaning 87% of simulated scenarios would have produced bigger jackpots and stronger sales than what actually happened.

Even so, she's not worried about the math catching up:

The mathematics behind the game suggests we are likely to see multiple draws with jackpots above $1 billion this year.

Nine states, one definition of a win

Redefining what a prize looks like requires getting nine lotteries, with nine player bases and nine legislatures, to agree on the direction. That, Shergill Chima remarked, is less about voting and more about listening.

Consensus doesn't come from everyone having the same perspective. It comes from listening, understanding different priorities, and finding common ground.

Disagreement is routine, she added, but it doesn't stall anything:

There is a genuine spirit of collaboration and mutual respect among the member lotteries, and that creates an environment where productive discussions can take place and thoughtful decisions can be made.

California runs the country's second-largest lottery, which could make it the loudest voice in the room. Shergill Chima sees the size differently:

California's size brings greater responsibility, not a bigger platform. As lead director, my job isn't to push California's interests above others.

Every state writes its own rules for gambling promotion, too, which complicates any single playbook for reaching players. She explained:

California, for example, has some of the more restrictive regulations when it comes to digital and online activities, so I understand firsthand how those differences can shape strategy.

Still, she doesn't treat the patchwork as a dead end. "The key is being innovative and adaptable while respecting each state's legal framework."

What a win looks like for her, too

Ask Shergill Chima how she'll judge her own one-year term, and the answer circles back to the same idea driving everything else: a win isn't just a number. She reflected:

Success, to me, is measured less by what I accomplished and more by how well the Consortium functioned as a whole. If, one year from now, every member feels heard, valued, and better positioned to serve their players and beneficiaries, that's a strong foundation.

She wants tangible progress, "more creative prize structures, stronger digital strategies, or deeper collaboration among member lotteries," and a game that's "growing not just in sales, but in relevance and excitement for a new generation of players."

Mostly, though, she wants to build trust:

Trust among member lotteries that the Consortium is a place where every voice matters. Trust from players that Mega Millions is a game worth playing. And trust from our beneficiaries that we're delivering on the promise that makes all of this worthwhile.

That's the real rewrite underway at Mega Millions. The jackpot was never the whole story. Increasingly, neither is the math behind it.