Crypto Traders Bet on $672 Million Mega Millions Jackpot as Combined Lottery Prizes Hit $1.14 Billion
Updated
Updated · yellow.com · Jul 15
Crypto Traders Bet on $672 Million Mega Millions Jackpot as Combined Lottery Prizes Hit $1.14 Billion
1 articles · Updated · yellow.com · Jul 15
Summary
$672 million Mega Millions jackpot has drawn crypto-linked betting on prediction markets, where traders price the odds that any ticket wins rather than pick numbers themselves.
Tuesday's rollover lifted the annuity prize to the biggest U.S. lottery pot of 2026, with a cash option of about $298 million before federal tax and roughly $180 million after top-rate withholding.
Polymarket and CFTC-regulated Kalshi have offered similar jackpot contracts before, giving users in some places an alternative to state lottery play because the contracts fall under different federal rules.
Ticket sales have accelerated as the jackpot climbed from $600 million to $637 million and now $672 million, while a concurrent Powerball prize briefly pushed combined U.S. jackpots to $1.14 billion.
Friday's next drawing could send Mega Millions above $700 million if no ticket matches again, a threshold reached only four times in the game's history.