Powerball jacket expanding to include players in the UK

Powerball is jumping the pond.

The lottery game that has made millionaires across the United States will expand this summer to include players in England, Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom, marking a significant internationalization of one of America’s most popular gambling offerings.

An agreement was announced Tuesday between the Multi-State Lottery Association, which administers Powerball, and Allwyn UK, the operator of the U.K.’s National Lottery. The deal still requires approval from the U.K. gambling commission before it can be implemented.

This expansion represents a historic first for Powerball, as it will mark the initial time a lottery outside the United States contributes to the game’s jackpot pool. The move is expected to accelerate jackpot growth by substantially increasing the player base.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to make sure that we’re keeping Powerball culturally and commercially relevant,” said Matt Strawn, Powerball head and chief executive of the Iowa Lottery. “And this really is the next natural progression in doing just that.”

Players on both sides of the Atlantic will compete for the same jackpot amounts, with payouts distributed in dollars for U.S. winners and pounds for those in the U.K. American players will see no changes to the familiar format—tickets remain $2, and the daunting odds of winning the jackpot stay at 1 in 292.2 million.

The expanded player pool is designed to address consistent feedback from lottery participants. “Players consistently tell us in survey after survey that faster growing Powerball jackpots is what they’d like to see,” Strawn explained. “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.”

For U.K. residents, Powerball offers an opportunity to pursue significantly larger jackpots than those currently available through domestic or European lotteries. While the largest Powerball payout in history reached just over $2 billion from a California ticket sold in 2022, the biggest prize ever won by a U.K. player through EuroMillions—a lottery spanning nine European countries—was £195 million ($265 million) that same year.

Allwyn UK’s Chief Executive Andria Vidler emphasized the excitement surrounding the partnership: “Our ambition is to bring more games, more innovation and more excitement to The UK National Lottery—and it doesn’t get more exciting than Powerball, with its transformative jackpots and life-changing contribution to good causes.”

Though the jackpots will be identical across countries, estimated prize amounts will differ due to currency conversion rates. Another key distinction involves taxation disclosure practices—the U.S. advertises pre-tax prize amounts, unlike in the U.K. Additionally, U.K. Powerball jackpots will be paid over a 30-year period, whereas American winners can choose between an annuity spread over three decades or a lump-sum cash payment, with most winners historically selecting the immediate cash option.

While players in both countries will compete for the same jackpot, the structure for smaller prizes will vary between the U.S. and U.K. markets.

The game format remains unchanged—players select five numbers from white balls numbered 1 to 69, plus one number from red Powerball options numbered 1 to 26. Drawings will continue on their established schedule of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

Currently, Powerball operates in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.K. expansion taps into a substantial new market, as more than 31 million people play at least one National Lottery game annually across the United Kingdom.

The agreement specifically applies to Powerball and will not affect Mega Millions, the other major U.S. lottery game. Industry analysts suggest this international expansion could represent a new trend in lottery operations, as operators seek ways to generate larger jackpots and increase player interest in an increasingly competitive gambling landscape.