Powerball ticket sales in the United Kingdom begin Tuesday, giving players across the Atlantic a chance at winning the same massive jackpot that US players already play for—with the same minuscule odds. The expansion, first announced in April through an agreement between the Multi-State Lottery Association in the US and Allwyn UK, will mark the first time a lottery outside the US contributes to the Powerball jackpot, the AP reports. The expansion will allow UK players to play for much larger jackpots than are now available at lotteries in the country and Europe. Wednesday night's drawing will be the first Powerball drawing open to players in the UK.
The largest-ever Powerball payout was just over $2 billion from a ticket bought in 2022 in California. EuroMillions, a lottery offered across nine European countries and also operated in the UK by Allwyn, awarded the maximum 250 million euros (about $285 million) to players from France, Ireland, and Austria over the course of 2025. The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are a minuscule 1 in 292.2 million. Those odds will be the same for US and UK players, lottery officials say. Tickets purchased in the UK will only go toward the Powerball jackpot—not lower-tier prizes. Players in the UK will have a different lower-tier prize structure.
US lottery officials say the expanded player base will allow Powerball jackpots to grow more quickly, likely increasing sales as more people are drawn to larger grand prizes. The estimated jackpot amounts in each country will differ due to currency conversion rates and because the US advertises prize amounts pretax, unlike in the UK. UK Powerball jackpots will also be paid over 30 years, whereas in the US jackpot winners have a choice between taking their winnings spread over years through an annuity or in cash—nearly all winners opt for cash. Powerball is played in 45 US states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2.
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