Powerball, the world's largest rolling jackpot game, has arrived in the UK with a £300 million opening prize. The American lottery, known for jackpots that have exceeded $1 billion, offers UK players a chance at what organisers call 'generational wealth'.
How to buy tickets and draw schedule
Tickets must be purchased by 11:55pm on Monday, Wednesday or Saturday for the following draw. Draws take place in the early hours of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The first UK draw is scheduled for Thursday, July 23 at approximately 4am. Tickets are priced at £4 per line.
How to play
Players select five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26. A Lucky Dip option is available for random number selection. The odds of matching all six numbers are 1 in 292,201,338. Since 2015, when Powerball increased its white ball pool to 69 and reduced its Powerball pool to 26, some numbers have been drawn more frequently than others.
Prize payment and jackpot sharing
Winners receive their prize in 30 annual instalments, not as a lump sum. If multiple winners across participating countries match all numbers, the jackpot is divided equally among them.
Operator comments
Operator Allwyn announced tickets went on sale earlier this week, with the current estimated jackpot at $416 million (£311 million). Andy Carter, Senior Winners' Advisor at Allwyn, told GB News: 'Powerball is the biggest lottery in the world. If you like, the UK is joining it as the 49th state. The jackpot has no limit. There's no cap to how it can grow... Theoretically, someone could win £1billion in this country.' Since 2021, the jackpot has rolled over to $1 billion on six occasions, once exceeding $2 billion. Carter added: 'This is generational wealth. If you win £300million on this week's Powerball draw, that is not just you, or your children, or your grandchildren; that's generations to come.'
Draw location and results
Draws take place three times a week from the Powerball studio in Florida. Results can be verified the morning after the draw at lottery.co.uk.
