Mega Millions ticket sales usually stop 15 minutes to 1 hour before the drawing time, but the exact cutoff depends on the state where you buy the ticket.

Basic timing

  • Mega Millions drawings are held at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
  • Most state lotteries stop selling tickets sometime between 10:00 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. Eastern (or the local equivalent) on draw nights, though a few close a bit earlier.

State-by-state variation

Cutoff times are set by each state lottery, so they are not the same everywhere.

  • Some states have a last‑sale time around 15 minutes before the draw, while others close sales 30–60 minutes before.
  • A few states also pause sales briefly after the cutoff and then resume for the next drawing.

How to find your exact cutoff

Because rules change and can differ even between retailers in the same state, always check a current local source.

  • Look on your state lottery’s official website for its Mega Millions game page.
  • Or ask a local lottery retailer what time they stop selling Mega Millions tickets on draw days.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.