Apr 16, 2026
Powerball, a multi-state American lottery game that already has a minimum top prize of $20 million (1), will now be awarding even bigger payouts.
The popular game, which saw a $2.04 billion jackpot (2) in 2022 and has had grand prices of more than $1.5 billion five times in the past 10 years, has announced an international expansion, which will bring bigger prizes.
Advertisement
Starting later this summer, pending approval from the U.K. Gambling Commission, lottery players in the United Kingdom will have a chance to win the Powerball jackpot. Ticket prices, however, will remain at $2 in the U.S., and officials say the odds of winning will remain the same, despite the increased number of players. (Powerball odds, which stand at 1 in 292.2 million, are set by the universe of numbers and draw mechanics, which will remain unchanged.)
The partnership marks the first time a non-U.S. lottery will contribute to the Powerball jackpot.
"This partnership expands the player base in a way that benefits every jurisdiction participating in Powerball," said Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, in a statement (3).
Further, as quoted in an Associated Press article (4), Strawn said, "Players consistently tell us in survey after survey that faster growing Powerball jackpots is what they'd like to see. Not surprisingly, the higher the jackpots grow the more people play the game in a particular drawing. The more people play, the higher sales grow. The higher sales grow, the higher the jackpots get, the more people play."
Who can win what?
Players on both sides of the pond will be eligible for the grand prize, but the lower-tier prizes will remain exclusive to U.S. players.
The drawings will remain the same. Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET (3:59 a.m. or 4:59 a.m. in the U.K., depending on daylight savings time), someone at the Powerball draw studio in Florida will select five white ball numbers from 1 to 69 and one red Powerball number from 1 to 26.
Jackpot totals will be the same in each country, but that might not be immediately obvious. Estimated jackpot amounts will show as different, in part because of currency conversion rates. The U.S. lottery also advertises prize amounts pretax. U.K. players see what they'll get after the government's cut.
Must Read
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — are you doing the same?
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this ‘explosion’
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Steep odds
While the odds of winning the Powerball aren't any worse than they were before the agreement, the lottery is still a lousy way of planning for big financial events, like retirement. To put 1 in 292.2 million into some context, the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team victory over the U.S.S.R — the "Miracle on Ice" — had odds of 1,000 to one (5). Your odds of being struck by lightning this year are 1 in 1.5 million (6), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And, according to a 2014 paper by Tulane University earth sciences professor Stephen A. Nelson, you've got a one in 1.6 million (7) chance of dying from a meteorite, asteroid or comet impact.
Should you manage to overcome those odds, one of the biggest mistakes lottery winners make is treating the winnings like they're not real, and spending them without much thought. Experts say the best thing you can do if you win a lottery is find an experienced financial advisor to help you manage it, along with an attorney and tax expert who all work together to protect your winnings and your financial future.
And if you don't win, you might be comforted at the fact that, over 34 years, buying a Powerball ticket has helped to fund around $38 billion in public programs (3) including education, financial literacy and veterans' services.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Connecticut Lottery (1); NBC (2); Powerball (3); NBC Connecticut (4); Action Network (5); KSNB Local 4 (6); National Geographic (7)
You May Also Like
- Turning 50 with $0 saved for retirement? Most people don’t realize they’re actually just entering their prime earning decade. Here are 6 ways to catch up fast
- Inside a $1B real estate fund offering access to thousands of income-producing rental properties — with flexible minimums starting at $10
- Vanguard’s outlook on U.S. stocks is raising alarm bells for retirees. Here’s why and how to protect yourself
- Here are 5 easy ways to own multiple properties like Bezos and Beyoncé. You can start with $10 (and no, you don’t have to manage a single thing)
Chris Morris is a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience, the majority of which were spent with some of the Internet’s biggest sites, including CNNMoney.com, where he was director of content development, and Yahoo! Finance, where he was managing editor. His work has also appeared on Fortune, Fast Company, Inc., CNBC.com, AARP, Nasdaq.com, and Voice of America, as well as dozens of other national publications.
