California Lottery Director Named Mega Millions® Lead Harjinder K. Shergill Chima Elected Lead Director By Consortium
PRESS RELEASE
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2026
SACRAMENTO – The Mega Millions Consortium announced that Harjinder Shergill Chima of the California Lottery has been elected as its new Lead Director.
As she accepted this role, Director Shergill Chima expressed her gratitude to those who held the position before her. “The directors who have served in this role before me have set a high bar, and I am thankful for their leadership, service, and guidance. It’s a true honor to build on the foundation they created, and the California Lottery is committed to carrying their work forward in collaboration with our partners across the country in service to California public education.”
Every Mega Millions ticket sold in California contributes $2 to California public education. Those contributions support athletic programs, career technical education, science and technology, the arts, and more.
About Mega Millions
Mega Millions is the only lottery game that has awarded seven jackpots exceeding $1 billion to individual ticketholders in seven different jurisdictions across the country. South Carolina was the first in 2018, followed by Michigan in 2021, Illinois in 2022, Maine and Florida in 2023, and New Jersey and California in 2024. The Florida prize on August 8, 2023, is the game’s current record jackpot at $1.602 billion.
Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $5 each and include a randomly assigned multiplier, multiplying the base prize levels by 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold, where the money supports designated good causes and retailer commissions.
Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 23; the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 290,472,336.
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The mission of the California Lottery is to raise additional funding for public education, helping to supplement school budgets for K-12 as well as colleges and universities. The California Lottery has raised more than $46 billion for public schools through the responsible sale of its games since 1985. Lottery funding for schools is largely discretionary, so administrators and educators can use Lottery money for instructional programs and services they may not otherwise afford. The California Lottery features eight draw games and dozens of new instant Scratchers games each year. More than 95% of California Lottery sales revenue goes back to the community in the form of prize payments, retailer commissions and bonuses, and contributions to education. More information about who benefits can be found here. California Lottery is also committed to promoting responsible gaming. Anyone who shows signs of a gambling problem, or knows someone who does, can get free, confidential help by calling the CA Problem Gambling Hotline at 1-800-GAMBLER.
Daniel Kelly
calottery
Information Officer II l Strategic Communications Supervisor
Public Affairs and Communications
916-539-1000 | dkelly@
California Lottery Supports California Public Schools
California Lottery apoya a las Escuelas Públicas de California
