Mega Millions jackpot hits $619M: Can you buy your tickets online?
At its current size, the jackpot ranks as the tenth largest in game history.
(NEXSTAR) — After another winnerless drawing on Friday, the Mega Millions jackpot has grown to an estimated $619 million. For some players, they may not even have to leave the house to get their ticket ahead of the next drawing.
A Mega Millions ticket hasn't matched the winning numbers since September when one sold in Texas and landed an $800 million jackpot, the seventh-largest payout in the game’s history. At $619 million, the current jackpot ranks as the tenth-largest, just edging out a $552 million prize won this summer in Illinois.
- $1.602 billion: Aug. 8, 2023; Florida
- $1.537 billion: Oct. 23, 2018; South Carolina
- $1.348 billion: Jan. 13, 2023; Maine
- $1.337 billion: July 29, 2022; Illinois
- $1.128 billion: March 26, 2024; New Jersey
- $1.050 billion: Jan. 22, 2021; Michigan
- $800 million: Sept. 10, 2024; Texas
- $656 million: Mar. 30, 2012; Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland
- $648 million: Dec. 17, 2013; California and Georgia
- Est. $619 million (Current jackpot)
After taxes, though, the payout will be much smaller. If that does not deter you, you still have a few hours to run out and grab your Mega Millions ticket.
Don't want to wait in line at your nearest gas station or lottery machine? Depending on where you live, you may not have to.
Some of the 45 states that participate in Mega Millions allow players to purchase tickets online.
In 11 states — Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas — players can use third-party service option Lotto.com to purchase tickets. Jackpot.com offers lottery ticket sales in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and West Virginia. These services purchase the tickets and send digital images to players.
Oregon players also have access to theLotter Oregon, a courier service.
Lotteries in the District of Columbia, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia sell tickets on their websites. If you're buying tickets in Ohio, Oklahoma, or Indiana, you can build your ticket in the respective state lottery's app, but you'll have to visit a retailer or lottery vending machine to print it.
Other participating states do not have online lottery sales. The California Lottery even warns that tickets purchased online are illegal and any bought via a digital reseller are "ineligible to win."
Regardless of how you buy your tickets, the next Mega Millions drawing is set for 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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