The Biggest MegaMillions Jackpots of All Time

What is MegaMillions?

The popular US lottery MegaMillions is the long-time rival of that other giant American lottery: PowerBall. Although the latter holds the world record for the highest jackpot ever, the MegaMillions lottery is hot on its heels. In the land of opportunity, no jackpot seems too big to be beaten!

The sum of $1.537 billion that was won on October 23rd, 2018, is not only the largest prize ever in Mega Millions' history, it is also the largest amount any individual has ever won. We don't know the identity of the winner or even their gender, however, as the lucky person from South Carolina opted to remain anonymous.

MegaMillions Record Jackpot Winner

As previously mentioned, the world record for the biggest lotto jackpot of all time is still held by PowerBall. However, the staggering $1.586 billion waiting to be picked up in January 2016 was split between three lucky winners rather than just one.

That's why MegaMillions set the record for the biggest single win in the lottery history when that $1.537 billion went to a single South Carolina winner. This record jackpot tops the top 5 MegaMillions highest winnings.

Let's take a closer look at those monster jackpot wins:

5. $536 Million

The huge MegaMillions jackpot on July 8, 2016 attracted millions of people hoping to get their hands on the ultimate lottery win. A couple from Indiana decided to buy five tickets* for the draw on a weekend trip. At first they could not believe their luck when they got back on the internet and discovered that they had matched the winning numbers, but in fact they had bagged the third-biggest win in Mega Millions history at that time: $ 536 million. To keep their children out of the limelight, the lucky couple decided to remain anonymous.

4. $543 Million

The fourth-highest Mega Millions jackpot was won on July 24th, 2018 by a syndicate from Santa Clara (California). The eleven work colleagues between the ages of 21 and 60 had spontaneously joined forces to try their luck in this always-popular lottery. They wanted to use their winnings ($29 million per person after tax) to pay off their mortgages, finance their children's college education, and travel. Despite the sudden windfall, the new millionaires all planned to stay with the company rather than quit because they said they all loved their jobs. Nice work if you can get it!

3. $648 Million

On December 17, 2013, two lottery ticket-holders made the same lucky number selection and shared the MegaMillions jackpot of $648 million. Ira Curry from Stone Mountain (Georgia), who chose family birthdays along with Lucky Number 7 on her docket, claimed her share of the million-pound the very next day. The other winner, Steve Tran from Northern California, did not get in touch until after two weeks because he had completely forgotten about his ticket. Fortunately he remembered before too long, but there have been many cases of jackpot winners who never collected their winnings. Of course this is never a concern with Lottoland, as winners are notified by email and, in the case of big jackpot winners, by telephone as well. 

2. $656 Million

The next on our list of the biggest jackpots was also shared between a group of people. On March 30th, 2012, a then-record jackpot of $656 million was on offer, triggering a veritable lottery fever during which more than a billion MegaMillions tickets were sold! The lucky numbers were matched on three separate tickets. The first winners to come forward were three friends, "The Three Amigos" from Milford, Maryland. The second lucky guy to claim his share of the mega jackpot was a person from Kansas who wanted to remain anonymous. Then a couple, Merle & Patricia Butler of Red Bud, Georgia, were the last of the new multi-millionaires to pick up their cheque for the biggest win of all time in Illinois lotto history.

1. $1,537 Million

On October 23th, 2018, the highest jackpot in the history of MegaMillions was won. The $1.537 billion grand prize also made a South Carolina resident the biggest single lotto winner ever. The lucky individual, who took more than four months to claim their winnings and whose anonymity is guaranteed, chose the cash option as the payout method, giving him a total of $877 million after taxes were deducted. The winner is said to have allowed another person to go ahead in the queue to buy a ticket out of courtesy and of course the next randomly selected ticket turned out to be the golden one. How long the new multimillionaire will be able to hold onto his or her record-holding title remains to be seen.

*Note that when you bet with Lottoland, you are betting on the outcome of the PowerBall draw and not purchasing a ticket for the lottery.

How to Bet on MegaMillions from the UK

With Lottoland you also have the opportunity to bet on the popular US MegaMillions lottery from the UK. Just pick 5 out of 70 numbers and one additional number, the so-called MegaBall, which must be between 01 and 25. You hit the jackpot if you select all 5 numbers and the MegaBall correctly.

In addition to winning the top jackpot, there are eight other categories in which extremely attractive sums are waiting for the lucky winners.

The MegaPlier option adds extra excitement, allowing you to multiply your winnings. Selecting this option means you could end up winning as much as 5 times your winnings (excluding the jackpot - that would be a little too much!) A number (two, three, four, or five) is drawn in addition to the regular MegaMillions numbers, and all prizes from levels 2 to 9 are multiplied by the number which is drawn. Do not forget to activate the MegaPlier on your ticket for just an additional one euro!

Here's a brief summary of everything you need to know about the MegaMillions:

How Much Does it Cost to Bet on MegaMillions from the UK?

As we have already seen, the MegaMillions jackpots can reach enormous heights. For this reason, the price per line bet is not fixed as it is for other international lotteries like EuroJackpot at Lottoland. The reason for this is that the upper limit of top jackpots in European multi-state lotteries is limited. With the big American lotteries, like MegaMillions and PowerBall, there is no limit - which is why those two are battling it out for the world record jackpot! With such mega-jackpots on offer our insurance costs increase, which is why we also need to increase the price for a line bet when the jackpots get extra-massive.

I Won a MegaMillions Prize – What Now?

All lottery winnings will automatically be credited to your Lottoland account and you will receive an e-mail notification to inform you of your win. All of our UK customers are automatically verified, although for large sums an additional document scan may potentially be requested to ensure the money goes to the right person, as explained here.  For smaller prizes they will be automatically credited and your money will arrive in your bank account within a few business days. Of course, if you're lucky enough to hit the MegaMillions jackpot, we'll contact you by phone to share the good news!

Lottoland guarantees a payout of all winnings with its unique insurance model - even the highest MegaMillions jackpots! More information about the American lotteries MegaMillions and Powerball and the payout of winnings can be found in the following article:

- How Does the MegaMillions Megaplier Work?

- How to Bet on MegaMillions Online

Try your luck from the UK and place a bet on the record breaking MegaMillions lottery with Lottoland!