Understanding Lottery Odds

Learn how lottery odds actually work — the real math behind Powerball and Mega Millions, for entertainment and education.

Powerball jackpot odds are 1 in 292,201,338 and Mega Millions are 1 in 290,472,336 — the same for every ticket.

Understand the odds for each of the 9 prize tiers, from the smallest prize up to the jackpot.

Learn what expected value means and why the math of a lottery ticket works the way it does.

Every draw is independent and random — past results do not change the odds of any future draw.