An Illinois Lottery player this week secured a massive $536 million Mega Millions jackpot, purchasing the winning ticket online, while a Richlands, North Carolina, man also celebrated a significant $1.1 million win from an online instant game.
Mega Millions Jackpot Lands in Illinois
The fortunate Illinois resident matched all five numbers and the Mega Ball in Tuesday's drawing, scoring one of the largest lottery prizes in recent memory. The winning numbers were 16, 21, 30, 35, 65, with Mega Ball 7.
This win marks the second-largest prize ever claimed by an online lottery player in the United States. The lucky individual will take home a lump sum of more than $244 million before federal and state taxes are deducted. This is also the fifth time an Illinois Lottery player has hit the Mega Millions jackpot in nearly five years, highlighting a notable streak for the state.
More people are playing lotteries online now, buying tickets and playing games on their phones and computers. The win shows how convenient online lottery platforms have become.
Illinois' Recent Lottery Fortunes
Illinois has seen its share of big lottery wins over the past few years, both online and through traditional retail channels. Just last year, in June 2024, an iLottery player from Illinois won a staggering $552 million, which still stands as the largest prize ever awarded to an online lottery player in the country.
Earlier, in March 2025, a ticket purchased at a convenience store in Cortland, Illinois, in rural DeKalb County, netted a $349 million Mega Millions jackpot. And in July 2022, a gas station in the northwest Chicago suburb of Des Plaines sold a ticket that won a colossal $1.34 billion Mega Millions prize, which remains the largest in Illinois history.
Another significant win occurred in June 2021, when a Mega Millions player won $56 million from a ticket bought at a Citgo station in south suburban Crestwood. Online lotteries are catching on, but you can still win big at gas stations and convenience stores.
North Carolina Man Hits Digital Instant Game Jackpot
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Thomas Horne of Richlands experienced his own life-changing win this week. A $30 online lottery play turned into a $1.1 million jackpot for Horne.
Horne hit the top-level “Grand Fortune” jackpot on Tuesday while playing the Monopoly digital instant game online. This particular jackpot is progressive, meaning it continuously grows until a lucky player wins it all. Lottery officials estimated the odds of hitting that top prize at about 1 in 1.6 million.
Horne claimed his prize on Thursday at lottery headquarters. After federal and state tax withholdings, he walked away with a net sum of $805,597. The jackpot didn't stay low for long after his win; it reset to $150,000 and had already climbed to more than $247,000 by Friday morning, according to lottery officials.
The Growing Appeal of Digital Play
These two big wins show how online lottery games are taking off. You can only play digital instant games like Horne's Monopoly game on state lottery websites or their apps. The NC Education Lottery currently offers 68 different digital instant games, providing a wide array of choices for players.
You can buy tickets and play games anytime, anywhere online — no need to leave your house. That's why more people are playing lotteries online.
State lotteries funnel money from ticket sales into public programs. In North Carolina, for instance, lottery officials noted that education programs in Onslow County alone received approximately $12.5 million in lottery funds last year, showcasing the broader impact of these games beyond individual wins.
In addition to the main Mega Millions jackpot, a second iLottery player in Illinois also secured a $5 million prize in Tuesday night's drawing, matching all five numbers with a 5x multiplier.
