Brazil’s Mega-Sena Shifts 8% of Prize Pool Away From Smaller Wins

The allocation for players matching all six numbers remains at 40%. CAIXA’s official notice changes the split within the prize pool, not the share of ticket revenue allocated to prizes.

Quina and Quadra Shares Both Fall to 10%

The previous distribution started on August 2, 2025. The new arrangement changes four of the five allocations:

• Sena, six matches – 40%, unchanged;
• Quina, five matches – 13% to 10%;
• Quadra, four matches – 15% to 10%;
• Draws ending in 0 or 5 – 22% to 25%;
• Year-end special draw reserve – 10% to 15%.

Together, Quina and Quadra used to receive 28% of the pool. They now receive 20%. That is an eight-percentage-point reduction, or 28.6% relative to their previous combined allocation.

Those figures refer to the money assigned to each prize category. They do not establish how much an individual winner will receive, which also depends on how many tickets hit that category.

8-Point Shift Equals 3.5% of Ticket Sales

Under CAIXA’s current Mega-Sena rules, 43.79% of ticket sales goes into the prize pool. Based on this share, 15M calculated that the eight-point change reallocates 3.5% of total ticket revenue from Quina and Quadra to the two jackpot reserves. The overall share of sales allocated to prizes remains unchanged.

For an illustrative R$100 million (about $19.85 million) in ticket sales, that would mean R$3,503,200 (about $695,300) moving to the reserves instead of the lower prize tiers. Dollar conversions use the Banco Central do Brasil’s October 22 PTAX closing rate of R$5.0383 per US dollar.

More Set Aside Without Changing Special-Draw Payout Rules

The two reserve categories together now receive 40% of the pool, up from 32%. That increases their combined allocation by 25% relative to the previous system.

CAIXA says the payout distribution in special contests stays the same. For Mega da Virada, the year-end draw, 90% of the special contest’s prize allocation still goes to six-number winners, with 5% each for five and four matches.

The new model took effect as Mega-Sena’s jackpot reached R$206.4 million (about $41 million) for the October 22 draw. No ticket matched all six numbers, leaving an estimated R$230 million (about $45.7 million) for October 24, according to Folha de S.Paulo. Most of the October 22 jackpot had accumulated before the new allocation took effect.