Mega Millions jackpot survives, surpasses $500m for first time in 2025

• Nobody matched all winning numbers on Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing
• After the top prize survived, it is now an estimated $520m for the next drawing, hitting this milestone sum for the first time in 2025
• The value of awarded non-jackpot prizes has increased several times since the changes to Mega Millions in April this year

After surviving on Tuesday, the Mega Millions jackpot has surpassed the $500m mark for the first time this year.

Only four Mega Millions jackpots won in 2025 so far

So far, in 2025, only four Mega Millions jackpots have been won.

Two of the jackpots were won before the Mega Millions game changes introduced early in April, while the other two were hit after.

The last time a lucky winner scored the game's jackpot was on June 27, 2025, when a single ticket in Virginia matched all winning numbers for the $348m jackpot at the time.

Before that, a ticket holder in Ohio hit the jackpot on April 18, 2025, for a $112m windfall.

Earlier in the year, an Illinois player won the Mega Millions jackpot on March 25, 2025, for a life-changing $349m payday.

The first top prize from the popular game of the year was won on January 17, 2025, in Arizona. At the time, one incredibly lucky lottery player won $112m.

Following the Mega Millions drawing on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, the jackpot continues to grow.

The game's top prize is an estimated $520m or $240.1m cash option for the next drawing scheduled for Friday, October 3, 2025.

Recent changes to the lottery game have significantly increased non-jackpot prizes

On Tuesday, Mega Millions drawing produced nearly 331,000 winning tickets across all prize tiers.

While the jackpot survived, the total winnings from all different prize tiers from the most recent drawing were an estimated $8.8m.

Early in April, Mega Millions introduced changes to the game, including a price increase to $5.

The cost per ticket increased, but the game also introduced built-in multipliers between 2X and 10X, significantly boosting non-jackpot prizes.

Since the change to Mega Millions, more than 12.9m winning tickets across all non-jackpot tiers have brought more than $318m in winnings.

In contrast, under the old game rules, the total value of those winnings would've been only $72.5m.

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