Millionaire for Life review (2026): odds, prizes and the Cash4Life switch

Who it’s for

Millionaire for Life is for players who like frequent draws and a top prize paid as income instead of one giant lump. It suits someone who wants better odds of a small win than the mega-jackpot games offer, and who is happy with a $5 play. It is not for people who want a jackpot that grows into the hundreds of millions, because the top prize here is fixed.

It is also the game that Cash4Life and Lucky for Life players now have to learn. If you played either of those, the section below and the questions at the end explain what changed.

How it works

The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) launched the game on 22 Feb 2026. It replaced Cash4Life and Lucky for Life, and both of those games held their final drawings on 21 Feb 2026. A play costs $5, and drawings take place nightly at 11:15 pm ET.

You pick five numbers from 58, plus a Millionaire Ball from 1 to 5. There are nine ways to win. Prizes are paid by the selling lottery under its own rules, and 31 jurisdictions sell the game, which is far fewer than sell Powerball. Check your state page to confirm yours.

Odds and value

The top prize is $1,000,000 a year for life, or $18M as cash, with an annuity minimum of 20 years. The odds are 1 in 22,910,580. The second prize is $100,000 a year for life or $2.2M as cash, at odds of 1 in 5,727,645. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 8.46 on the prize chart, although the Pennsylvania Lottery’s launch release gave 1 in 8.47, so a rounding difference may appear between sources.

Those odds are far shorter than the 1 in 292,201,338 jackpot odds of Powerball, and the any-prize odds beat both Powerball and Mega Millions. The trade-off is the size of the top prize, which does not roll over. As always, the operator keeps a share of every play, so the ticket should be treated as entertainment. Our methodology sets out how we weigh these figures.

Trust and regulation

The game is run by MUSL, a nonprofit association of member lotteries, and sold by lotteries that each answer to their own state law. The minimum age is 18, per the Pennsylvania Lottery’s release. A regulator for the game itself is not named on the pages we checked.

The main caution is track record. The game launched in 2026, so there is little history to judge. The odds and prizes are published on the official prize chart, which is the most important transparency test.

Claiming prizes and taxes

Claims go through the selling lottery, and the deadline depends on that lottery. A single national deadline is not published on the pages we checked, so look at your state page. The annuity runs for at least 20 years under the prize rules. The cash alternatives are $18M for the top prize and $2.2M for the second.

Federal withholding is 24% over $5,000 in the lotteries we cover, and state rules for tax and winner privacy differ. Anonymity is not set by the game. Our guides cover annuity versus cash in more depth.

Playing online

Online sales are not stated on the game’s official page. Virginia Lottery Online lists Millionaire for Life among its online games. Couriers such as Jackpocket also list it, with Colorado storefront prices of $5.60 against the $5 face price.

Our take

Millionaire for Life is a sensible, well-documented game. Its any-prize odds are the best of the national games we review, its top prize is a lifetime income, and it draws every night. The cost is a smaller maximum prize and a short history. For former Cash4Life and Lucky for Life players it is the natural next step, as long as you understand it is a different game with different odds.

Frequently asked questions

What happened to Cash4Life and Lucky for Life?

Both held their final drawings on 21 Feb 2026, and Millionaire for Life replaced them the next day. For Lucky for Life, the Connecticut Lottery listed 20 Aug 2026 as the last claim date.

Is it a $1,000,000 prize every year?

The top prize is $1,000,000 a year for life, with an annuity minimum of 20 years, or $18M cash.

Is it sold in my state?

It is sold by 31 jurisdictions. Check your state page to confirm yours is one of them.

Are the odds better than Powerball?

For any prize, yes, at 1 in 8.46. For the top prize, also yes, at 1 in 22,910,580, though the prize is smaller.