Would you get excited about the possibility of winning close to $800 million? That’s the current Mega Millions jackpot. But there’s no rush for tickets right now.
For most Ohioans, getting $800 million would be life-changing. Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have gone over a billion dollars 14 times, including once annually in the last three years.
But as those jackpots have soared, the Ohio Lottery’s Danielle Frizzi-Babb said the level at which players get excited about the game has risen too.
“The levels that you would think would drive traffic don’t really anymore. We have, players have what we like to call jackpot fatigue," Frizzi-Babb said.
Frizzi-Babb said she expects sales will pick up once the jackpot tops $1 billion. Frizzi-Babb also noted the price of a Mega Millions lottery ticket increased from $2 to $5 in 2025. But she said other factors could be contributing to lottery fatigue.
"I think something else may be important to think about here is people have a certain amount of discretionary dollars, an amount of money that they're willing to spend on their entertainment. And there's all sorts of entertainment to choose from," Frizzi-Babb said.
Ohio Lottery profits go to education, and last year more than $1.4 billion went to schools. But that’s a little lower than 2024, when more than $1.5 billion was transferred.
