Mass. Lottery to Introduce First-Ever $50 Instant Ticket

Massachusetts Lottery fans will soon have a new, more expensive ticket option to purchase.

The Massachusetts State Lottery announced on Tuesday that it will introduce its first $50 instant scratch ticket. The ticket, named Billion Dollar Extravaganza, will offer over $1 billion in total winnings, including the biggest instant prize in mass lottery history: $25 million.

The ticket is set to go on sale Tuesday, February 7. There will be three $25 million prizes up for grabs, along with five $2 million prizes and 15 $1 million prizes. The odds of winning a prize with this ticket are 1 in 4.10, according to lottery officials.

This decision comes after sustained requests from customers for a ticket at this price.

“As the Lottery’s 50th anniversary celebration draws to a close, what better time to introduce the $50 ticket to begin our next 50 years! State Treasurer and Chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission Deborah B. Goldberg said in a statement. “Our customers have been asking for this ticket for some time. After careful consideration, the Lottery has what we believe will provide them with the whole new level of excitement they have been looking for.

A total of 30.2 million of those tickets will be printed, and sales of the game are expected to top $1.5 billion, officials said. The Billion Dollar Extravaganza game has the potential to generate over $150 million in net profits. The 352 cities and towns of Massachusetts receive the benefits of the lottery in the form of unlimited local assistance.

Currently, the most expensive instant ticket available in the state is $30, a price first introduced in 2014. More than a dozen other U.S. lotteries offer a $50 ticket, have officials said.

“Billion Dollar Extravaganza is the result of extensive research and testing over several years,” Mass Lottery Acting Executive Director Mark William Bracken said in a statement.

All winning tickets in this game will total $100 or more, and players have their best chance of winning $500 and $1,000 prizes in mass lottery history.

Billion Dollar Extravaganza is a “match-style game”, where each ticket contains 10 “winning numbers” and 35 player-assigned numbers. Customers win if one or more of the “winning numbers” matches a number assigned to them. Multiplier symbols and bonus points are also scattered throughout.

Even if customers don’t get a winning ticket, they will still have a chance to win a second chance draw. Players can enter non-winning tickets for opportunities to win prizes ranging from $100 to $50,000. There will be 10 second chance draws, each offering 15 prizes of $50,000, 10 prizes of $1,000, 75 prizes of $500 and 300 prizes of $100.