Bits & Odds

Massachusetts Mega Millions (October 2026)

Tuesday · Friday · $5 a play · Power Play on sale here

Latest draw · October 6, 2026 Drawn for all 47 jurisdictions
Advertised jackpot
$364 million
Jackpot odds
1 in 290,472,336
Any prize
1 in 23.07
A line here
$3

The short version

Power Play is on sale in Massachusetts; Double Play is not, so a Massachusetts ticket tops out at $3 a line. At the jackpot standing after the October 6, 2026 draw, one $5 ticket bought in Massachusetts is worth $1.27 — 25 cents on the dollar once Massachusetts's 5% withholding comes off the jackpot, against $1.29 before it.

What is different in Massachusetts

Ticket price
$5 a line
Every $5 Mega Millions ticket has carried a built-in multiplier since April 2025; there is no separate add-on to buy.
Prize structure
Fixed, as the chart
The published amounts are what you are paid — Massachusetts does not adjust them for sales.
State withholding
5%
Held back before the cheque is written, on top of 24% federal. What you finally owe is settled at filing.
Minimum age
18
Massachusetts State Lottery's own rule. Five jurisdictions set it higher.

Rules read from powerball.com and Massachusetts State Lottery on 2026-09-22. Withholding rates and the calculator.

What a Massachusetts ticket is worth right now

The advertised jackpot is $364 million. The cash value is about $147 million, because the headline is a 30-year annuity and nobody takes it. At that jackpot our sales model puts the chance of having to share a win at enough that a winning ticket is worth 93% of the prize on average rather than all of it. Then Massachusetts withholds 5% — about $7 million of that cash value — and the federal 24% comes off on top of that. What a Massachusetts winner keeps after tax, beside every other state.

Ticket price
$5
up to $3 with add-ons
Worth, before state tax
$1.29
the same in all 47 jurisdictions
Worth in Massachusetts
$1.27
25c on the dollar
Massachusetts keeps
5%
of a jackpot cash option

The withholding only comes off the jackpot term here, not off the whole figure. Nearly all of a ticket's non-jackpot value sits in the $4.00 and $7.00 tiers, which no state withholds on; taxing those too would push the number down in a way that happens to flatter our own conclusion, so we do not. The draw-by-draw chart behind this is on the Mega Millions page.

Hot and cold numbers

The drawing is national, so the frequencies are too — there is no Massachusetts hot number, only a Mega Millions one. Over 933 draws of the current 5/70 + 1/24 matrix, 10 has come up most (87 times against 67 expected) and 11 has waited longest, 57 draws.

10 has come up most often, 87 times. Each number averages about 67 over 933 draws, and whichever number happens to lead normally finishes around 19 ahead. 10 is 20 ahead, so this is an ordinary spread rather than a streak. 45 has come up least, 53 times.

Massachusetts Mega Millions questions

Can you buy Power Play in Massachusetts?
Yes. It costs $1 a play on top of the $2 ticket and multiplies every prize below the jackpot by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 — the 10 only when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less. We price that extra dollar at about 46 cents at a large jackpot and 50 cents when the 10× ball is in the drum.
Is Double Play available in Massachusetts?
No. 30 of the 48 Powerball lotteries offer Double Play and Massachusetts is not one of them, so a Massachusetts ticket tops out at $3 a line. powerball.com publishes the list, and says more lotteries may add it later.
How much tax does Massachusetts take from a Mega Millions win?
Massachusetts withholds 5%, on top of the 24% held back federally. On the cash value of the jackpot as it stands now that is about $7 million to the state alone. Withholding is not the final bill — what you actually owe is settled when you file. Run your own number through the calculator.
Are Mega Millions prizes in Massachusetts the same as the national prize chart?
Yes. Every prize below the jackpot is a set cash amount in Massachusetts, exactly as the national chart prints it. Only California pays pari-mutuel instead.
How old do you have to be to play Mega Millions in Massachusetts?
18. Massachusetts State Lottery sets it, and a winning ticket has to be claimed in the jurisdiction where it was bought.
Where were the Massachusetts Mega Millions numbers drawn?
In Tallahassee, Florida, like every Mega Millions drawing — one drawing serves all 47 jurisdictions. The numbers on this page are the same numbers as everywhere else; what the page adds is what they are worth to a Massachusetts ticket. The national analysis is here.

Where these facts come from

The winning numbers are cross-checked against more than one official source before they go up — every source and every correction is listed. The Massachusetts-specific rules were read from powerball.com and Massachusetts State Lottery on 2026-09-22, and bao draws jurisdictions re-reads the published lists on every run and fails if either has moved. How the expected values are computed.