Florida Lottery officials said Thursday that the state would join 42 others later this year in selling tickets to the Mega Millions game.
Tickets will go on sale on May 15.
"It is a multistate game like Powerball," said Tom Dolan, the Miami district manager of the Florida Lottery. "However, it's a dollar price point as opposed to $20 tickets. The starting jackpots are a little lower. They start at $12 million as opposed to $40 million for Powerball. Those are the main differences between the two games."
The state already sells tickets to Powerball, another multistate game. It also has its own game called Florida Lotto.
Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell contends that adding Mega Millions is a "winning decision" because it will generate more money for education.
"The Florida Lottery prides itself on being responsive to our players and retailers," O'Connell said in a statement. "The addition of Mega Millions to our product mix is something they have requested for many years."
A Mega Millions drawing last March, when three ticket buyers shared a $656 million jackpot, remains the largest lottery payout of all time. Players choose six numbers in the game.
In the past, lottery officials have resisted adding games because of fears it would erode the sales of existing games. Mega Millions began in 1996 with six states.
Drawings for Mega Millions are Tuesdays and Fridays.
Last summer, the Florida Lottery wrapped up the most financially successful year in its history. The state-created lottery boosted its sales to $4.45 billion, an increase of more than $440 million over the previous fiscal year.
Money generated by the Florida Lottery goes toward the state education fund.
This past month state officials announced that the lottery had its most successful week ever in the sale of scratch-off lottery tickets.
The Powerball drawing airs on Local 10 News at 11 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.