Lottery Mechanism
Understanding how Megapot's lottery works helps you make informed decisions about playing.
How the Lottery Works
Each Megapot ticket has 6 numbers:
5 normal numbers - chosen from 1 to 30
1 bonusball - chosen from a dynamic range that changes each drawing
When the drawing runs, 6 winning numbers are selected using verifiable randomness from Pyth Network. Your prize depends on how many of your numbers match (see our article on Prize Structure to learn more).
Dynamic Bonusball Range
You may notice the bonusball range changes from drawing to drawing. This is intentional and serves an important purpose.
Why the Range Changes
The bonusball range adjusts based on the size of the prize pool:
Larger pool - Wider bonusball range, harder to hit the jackpot
Smaller pool - Narrower bonusball range, easier to hit the jackpot
This keeps the lottery economically sustainable by ensuring the backers can keep their edge on ticket sales. If the bonusball range was set too low for the size of the pool then they would be incentivized to withdraw from the pool thus making the prize pool smaller for players!
Understanding Your Odds
Your odds depend on two factors:
Normal balls - Fixed range of 1-30, picking 5 unique numbers
Bonusball - Dynamic range that changes each drawing
Calculating Odds
For the normal balls, you are matching 5 numbers out of 30. The odds of matching all 5 are approximately 1 in 142,506.
For the bonusball, if the range is 1-15, your odds of matching it are 1 in 15.
Combined jackpot odds would be roughly 1 in 2.1 million (142,506 x 15). When the bonusball range widens to 1-25, jackpot odds become approximately 1 in 3.6 million.
Lower prize tiers have much better odds since they require fewer matches.
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