Exclusive sales of Mega da Virada 2023 begin

Mega da Virada is getting closer and closer! From December 18, Mega-Sena starts exclusive sales for the most awaited draw of the year, which will take place on Sunday, December 31 to commemorate the end of 2023 and the arrival of 2024. This means that from the 18th until the big day, December 31, only bets for this draw will be available for purchase.

This means that there will be no more weekly Mega-Sena drawings until December 31. The last draw this year was last December 16, and they will no longer resume until January 4, 2024, as there will also be no draw on January 2 in commemoration of the New Year's holiday.

So now is the time to place your bet and compete for the Mega da Virada grand prize, which, we recall, will be held on December 31, starting at 20:00 Brazilian time. The betting sales will be available until the same day of the draw, until 17:00 Brazilian time.

But the beginning of exclusive sales is not the only news of the day. In the last hours, Loterias Caixa announced an unexpected increase of the first prize, which grew by R$ 20 million, reaching the incredible amount of R$ 570 million! That's right: although initially estimates pointed to a prize of R$ 550 million, sales for the draw have surpassed all forecasts, leading to an increase in the estimated value of the first prize.

What wonderful news! The announced increase is striking, since it indicates that the first prize could rise even more with the final closing of ticket sales. It happened before, in the 2022 edition of the Mega da Virada. That year, the announced prize was estimated at R$ 450 million, but when the time came to count all the bets, it was revealed that the amount exceeded all expectations, reaching an impressive R$ 541.9 million - almost R$ 100 million more!

Currently, the R$ 541.9 million prize of the Mega da Virada 2022 edition remains the record prize for a lottery in Brazil, and even in all of Latin America! Therefore, this year's prize, now estimated at R$ 570 million, will undoubtedly set a new record. This amount would be equivalent to about 117.1 million dollars or about 106.6 million euros, which would place it among the biggest lotteries in the world after such renowned draws as Powerball, Mega Millions or Euromillions.

In fact, as just published by the portal Loterias.com.br, this year's prize is so millionaire that it would buy about 40,117 iPhones 15 pro max 1TB, 167 Ferraris Roma Spider, the most expensive mansion in Brazil (valued at about R$ 220 million) and even a soccer team of the Brazilian league (the famous Brasileirão) as renowned as São Paulo, Fluminense or Paranaense. A real madness!

How to bet in Mega da Virada

The minimum bet in Mega da Virada works the same as in any other Mega-Sena drawing: you just need to complete a 6-number bet from 1 to 60. However, considering that the odds of winning the first prize with a single bet are 1 in over 50 million, many people prefer to use the multiple bet option.

Multiple bets allow you to select from 6 to 20 numbers per bet. This creates several combinations between all the numbers, so you enter the draw with many more bets, covering a wider range of odds. However, it can also be a very costly strategy, as each additional number increases the final value of the bet.

The groups, syndicates or bolões (as they are known in Brazil) are a good option to buy several bets among several players, sharing the costs. However, keep in mind that the prizes are also shared!

Prizes and odds of Mega da Virada 2023

In addition to the first prize of R$ 570 million, a total of 3 prize categories are played in the draw, called Sena, Quina and Quadra.

In the weekly drawings, the odds of winning the Mega-Sena first prize with a single bet are 1 out of more than 50 million possible combinations. However, the case of Mega da Virada is a bit different in the sense that, since it does not accumulate, it is possible to win the prize even by matching fewer numbers. So, technically, there are more chances of winning the first prize in this draw compared to the normal Mega-Sena draws.

In total, these are all the prizes with their odds:

Previous editions

Since its launch in 2008, the Mega-Sena da Virada special draw, known simply as Mega da Virada, has become the largest lottery draw in Brazil, generating participation and revenues unmatched by other draws.

The 2022 edition remains for now the most millionaire of all, although it will be surpassed this year with the prize of at least R$ 570 million. Last year, a total prize of R$ 541.9 million was reached, which was distributed among 5 winning bets.

In fact, the Mega-Sena draws are usually so well attended that, although the rules of the draw state that if there are no winners of the first prize, it will be distributed among the winners of the next category with winners, this has not yet happened: on the contrary, in no Mega-Sena edition has the prize been won by a single bet, but there has always been more than one winning bet.

In fact, the 3 draws with the fewest winners were the following, all divided between 2 winning bets:

• 2021 - R$378.1 million reais: two winning bets.
• 2020 - 325.2 million reais: two winning bets
• 2009 - R$144.9 million reais: two winning bets

And, on the contrary, these are the draws that have been shared among more winning bets:

• 2018 - 302.5 million reais: 52 winning bets
• 2017 - 306.7 million reais: 17 winning bets
• 2016 - 220.9 million reais: 6 winning bets
• 2015 - 246.5 million reais: 6 winning bets

In summary, these are the 10 largest Mega da Virada prizes since its launch in 2008:

• 2022: R$ 541.9 million
• 2021: R$ 378.1 million
• 2020: R$ 325.2 million
• 2017: R$ 306.7 million
• 2019: R$304.2 million
• 2018: R$ 302.5 million
• 2014: R$ 263.2 million
• 2015: R$246.5 million
• 2012: R$244.7 million
• 2013: R$224.6 million