All About Lottery Multipliers

Attention, lotto lovers. There are plenty of ways to win BIG without nabbing the top prize. Multipliers like the Megaplier for Mega Millions and Power Play for Powerball are optional ways to add some oomph to your potential winnings. 

What is the multiplier in the lottery?

For an extra $1 per game, you can add the multiplier to your ticket, which will multiply your prize amount—not including the grand prize—by up to 10 times, depending on the game. The “multiplier” number is announced along with the winning numbers after the drawing.  It is drawn just like the other numbers in the game, so no one knows what the lottery multiplier will be before the balls are drawn.

Adding the optional multiplier won’t boost your odds of winning, but could boost the amount won if you do. For Mega Millions, the possible multiplier numbers are 2X, 3X, 4X, and 5X. For Powerball, they are 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, and 10X. Other games with multipliers? Lotto America, Lotto Texas, and Pick-6 in New Jersey! 

Lottery Multiplier Wins

1. When an Ohio player went from millionaire to MULTI-millionaire

An Ohio lottery player in January 2022 matched five of five regular numbers on their Mega Millions ticket, just missing the Mega Ball. That would normally be a $1 million prize, but this lucky player had opted to add the mega multiplier (called the “Megaplier”) to their ticket. A $1 million win turned into $3 million—and the rest is history.

2. Anytime the 10X(!) multiplier is drawn for Powerball

What is the Powerball multiplier? The Powerball multiplier is called Power Play, and it can increase your winnings up to 10 times!

The very special 10X multiplier on Powerball is in play whenever the Powerball top prize is under $150 million. A recent winner in North Carolina played some fortune cookie numbers that came with his order of fried shrimp and rice. He matched four out of five regular numbers AND the Powerball for what would have been a $50,000 payday.

Thanks to ticking that Power Play box on his play slip, his prize jumped TEN times to $500,000.

3. When $50K turned into $150K in a New York minute

Jackpocket lottery app user Ferney in New York picked his own lottery numbers and matched five of six regular numbers plus the Powerball. The 3X Power Play turned a $50,000 win into a $150,000 windfall. That’s how the multiplier works. 

The winner said, “The multiplier is what made the prize so big. That $1 made a $150,000 return. I always add the multiplier. Why not?”

4.  When a lottery pool won a cool $5 million

In a lottery pool, a bigger win means everyone gets a bigger slice of the prize. A group of 20 co-workers at a medical supply company in Rhode Island joined forces for Mega Millions back in 2016. The “Billy Bunch Microgroup” purchased the Megaplier feature on their ticket, which ended up multiplying their $1,000,000 prize by five. With a $5,000,000 total prize, each member of the group took home $250,000.

5. When a woman accidentally bought the wrong ticket…but still became a millionaire

A Powerball winner in North Carolina missed the Wednesday night ticket cut-off by one minute, so her ticket went through for the Saturday drawing instead. Her lucky $3 Power Play ticket matched five out of five regular numbers to win $1 million in Saturday's drawing. Is the Powerball multiplier worth it? It was to her. Her prize was doubled to $2 million when the 2X multiplier was drawn. Happy accidents! 

Calculating the Multiplier

You won’t know how much your prize could be multiplied by. At least not until the drawing... 

The multiplier number is pulled during or right before the lottery drawing. If you win a non-jackpot prize (and chose to add the multiplier to your ticket) you will be able to use that number to determine what your new prize is!

Calculating the multiplier is pretty simple. You can easily know the potential prize for any Powerball Power Play multiplier or Mega Millions Megaplier by checking out our charts in our blog posts. 

More Lottery Games with Multiplier Options on Jackpocket

Jackpocket is available in 19 locations. Powerball and Mega Millions aren’t the only games with lottery multipliers available. Here are more lottery games with multipliers that you can try for games available in your state.

FAQs 

When is the multiplier available?

For both the Powerball and Mega Millions, the multiplier is available with each drawing. For Powerball, the 10X multiplier ball is only added to the mix when the grand prize is below $150 million. The other games listed above have their own rules around the multiplier. See your state lottery website for more information about when the multiplier is active.

What are the biggest lottery multipliers out there?

Mega Millions (Megaplier), Powerball (Power Play) and Lotto America (All-Star Bonus) all have multipliers that could increase your prize by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.

Powerball offers a 10X multiplier, but there are rules that govern when the 10X multiplier is available. This multiplier is only added to the multiplier drawing when the grand prize is below $150 million.

Other games with up to a 10x multiplier? Pick-6 in NJ and Lotto Texas both have multipliers that can go this high! How would you like to increase your non-jackpot winnings by a factor of 10?

How does the All-Star Bonus work?

Lotto America’s All-Star Bonus is available in these states:

• Delaware

• Idaho

• Iowa

• Kansas

• Maine

• Minnesota

• Mississippi

• Montana

• Nebraska

• New Mexico

• North Dakota

• Oklahoma

• South Dakota

• Tennessee

• West Virginia 

Lotto America's All Star Bonus works similarly to other lottery multiplier games in that it is an optional $1 add-on to the regular ticket price, and you won’t know what the multiplier will be until the drawing happens. It impacts all non-top prize levels and can increase them by up to five times. You can win with as little as one number if the number drawn matches your Lotto America Star Ball number. By matching that number without the All-Star Bonus, you would win $2. If the All-Star Bonus is added to your ticket and the 5x multiplier is drawn, your $2 win becomes $10.

How do I order lottery tickets online?

Getting your lottery ticket online with Jackpocket is easy. Choose your game, then pick your lucky numbers or go with  a random Quick Pick. You can even add the multiplier to participating games! Enjoy your favorite state lottery games using Jackpocket!