Powerball Has Landed in the UK
For the first time in its 34-year history, the world's biggest jackpot game is available outside America. Since 21 July 2026, UK players have been playing alongside 48 US lotteries for the same shared, uncapped jackpot — starting at £12 million and capable of climbing past £1 billion. Here's exactly how it works.
The Historic Link-Up
America's biggest lottery crosses the Atlantic for the first time
Powerball has been running in the United States since 1992 and has never been sold anywhere else — until now. In a partnership between Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, and the US Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a UK-specific version of the game launched on Tuesday 21 July 2026. The first retail ticket was sold in Pocklington, Yorkshire, just after 5am; the first online ticket followed at 5:54am via the National Lottery app in Brighton. The first draw open to UK players took place in the early hours of Thursday 23 July — no one won the jackpot, which promptly rolled on toward new heights.
The mechanics of the link-up matter, and they're genuinely interesting. UK players play for the same jackpot as US players — every UK ticket contributes the same fixed dollar amount to the shared jackpot pool as a US ticket, and with The National Lottery joining, 49 lotteries now feed that single pot. More players means faster-rolling, bigger jackpots on both sides of the Atlantic. Lower-tier prizes, however, are kept separate: the UK has its own prize structure, funded by UK sales, with a couple of UK-only twists covered below.
The game also carries serious pedigree. Powerball produced the biggest lottery prize in history — over $2.04 billion in November 2022 — and across three decades has generated an estimated $38 billion for good causes in the US. The UK version is expected to raise around £1 billion for UK Good Causes over its first five years, with over 30% of every ticket price going to UK projects.
How to Play UK Powerball
Five numbers, one Powerball — and a draw that happens while you sleep
Pick Your Numbers
Choose five main numbers from 1–69 and one Powerball from 1–26, or take a Lucky Dip. Each line costs £4, from National Lottery retailers or the website and app.
Buy Before 11.55pm
This works differently from Lotto or EuroMillions: tickets must be bought by 11.55pm the night before the draw — Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights.
The Draw Happens in Florida
Draws take place around 4am UK time on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings, live from the Powerball studio in Florida — while most UK players are asleep.
Check Over Breakfast
Results are published shortly after the draw, so UK players check their numbers in the morning. Online tickets are checked automatically and winnings credited to your account.
Jackpot Paid Over 30 Years
Match all five main numbers plus the Powerball to win the shared jackpot — paid to UK winners over 30 years, mirroring the US annuity model.
UK Prize Tiers Explained
The jackpot is the shared, transatlantic pot — uncapped, starting at £12 million, and capable of growing into the hundreds of millions and beyond as it rolls. It's won by matching all five main numbers plus the Powerball, and paid to UK winners over 30 years.
Below the jackpot, the UK game runs its own prize structure, separate from the US tiers. Two are fixed: matching five main numbers pays a flat £1 million, and the UK-exclusive "Match 2 main numbers" tier pays a fixed £8 — a tier that doesn't exist for US players. The remaining tiers pay estimated amounts that vary with each draw depending on the numbers drawn and how many players win in that tier.
Overall odds of winning any prize on the UK game are about 1 in 14 per line.
UK Powerball Prizes
Jackpot shared with US players and paid over 30 years to UK winners. Non-fixed tiers vary per draw with the numbers drawn and winner counts. Full tier details at the National Lottery.
Why Is the UK Jackpot Smaller Than the US One?
Same jackpot, two very different headline numbers — here's the honest explanation
If you've seen American coverage of a Powerball jackpot and then looked at the figure on the National Lottery site, you'll have noticed the UK number is noticeably lower. It's a fair thing to be suspicious about — so here's what's actually going on. It is the same jackpot and the same shared pool. The two figures are lower and higher because they're measuring different things, not because UK players are getting a worse deal on the pot itself.
Advertised in the USA
$567 million
The 30-year annuity total, quoted before any federal or state tax. The alternative cash option was around $251.8 million.
Advertised in the UK
£300 million
The 30-year total a UK winner actually receives, with deductions already taken off. Roughly $342 million at the time.
Illustrative snapshot from late July 2026. Jackpot figures change with every draw — always check the National Lottery for the current amount.
Before tax vs after
This is the big one. American lottery prizes are advertised as pre-tax figures, and a US winner then loses 24–37% to federal tax plus up to 10.9% in state tax. The UK figure has already had its deductions applied — so what you see is close to what you'd actually bank.
Annuity only for UK winners
US winners choose between the annuity and a much smaller lump sum — and almost all of them take the lump sum. UK winners don't get that choice: the prize is paid over 30 years. So the UK figure is always the annuity-style total, never a cash-now alternative.
It isn't a currency conversion
Because of the two points above, you can't work out the UK jackpot by running the US figure through an exchange rate — you'd overstate it substantially. The pound being worth more than the dollar is the smallest part of the gap, not the cause of it.
The short version: the American headline is a bigger number describing a pre-tax annuity that most winners never take. The UK headline is a smaller number describing money that would genuinely land in your account. Comparing them directly isn't comparing like with like — and it's worth knowing that a UK win of "only" £300m and a US win of "$567m" can leave you in a broadly similar position once the taxman has been through the American one.
⚖️ The Honest Trade-Offs
- The jackpot odds are long — even by lottery standards. At roughly 1 in 292.2 million per line, the Powerball jackpot is about twice as hard to hit as EuroMillions (1 in 139.8 million). The trade: EuroMillions caps at €250m, while Powerball is uncapped and has already passed $2bn once.
- UK jackpot winners are paid over 30 years, not as a lump sum. This is a genuine difference from every other National Lottery game — EuroMillions and Lotto pay tax-free lump sums. Whether an annuity suits you is a personal (and for big sums, a professional-advice) question.
- The UK headline figure looks smaller than the American one — and that's not a con. UK jackpots are advertised after deductions, US jackpots before tax, and UK winners only get the annuity option. See the section above for the full breakdown; the pot itself is genuinely shared.
- £4 a line is the priciest draw game on the National Lottery. Double a Lotto line, more than a EuroMillions line. The 1-in-14 any-prize odds and the £8 Match 2 tier soften that, but it's the premium product.
- How does it stack up overall? See our full lottery comparison — odds, prices, jackpots and payout styles for EuroMillions, Powerball, UK Lotto and more, side by side.
UK Powerball Questions
What everyone's asking since the launch
Tickets went on sale on Tuesday 21 July 2026 — the first time in Powerball's 34-year history that it has been sold outside the United States. The first draw open to UK players took place in the early hours of Thursday 23 July 2026. The game is operated by Allwyn under The National Lottery, in partnership with the US Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
Yes. UK players compete for the same jackpot as players across 48 US lotteries — every UK ticket contributes the same fixed dollar amount to the shared jackpot pool as a US ticket. If a UK player and a US player both hit the jackpot in the same draw, they share it. Lower-tier prizes are separate: the UK has its own structure funded by UK sales, including the fixed £1m Match 5 prize and the UK-exclusive £8 Match 2 tier.
It's the same shared jackpot — the two numbers just measure different things. The US figure is the 30-year annuity total quoted before tax, and an American winner then loses 24–37% to federal tax plus up to 10.9% in state tax. The UK figure already has its deductions applied, so it's much closer to what a UK winner actually banks. UK winners also only get the annuity, while US winners can take a much smaller lump sum instead. That's why you can't just convert the US figure at the exchange rate — you'd overstate the UK jackpot substantially. There's a full side-by-side breakdown further up this page.
The draws happen live from the Powerball studio in Florida, in the US evening — which is around 4am UK time on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings (3.59am for most of the year, shifting slightly for a few weeks when UK and US clocks change on different dates). Because of that, ticket sales close at 11.55pm the night before each draw — Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights. Buy your ticket before bed, check it over breakfast.
Over 30 years — the annuity model Powerball uses in the US. This is different from every other National Lottery draw game: EuroMillions and Lotto jackpots are paid as one tax-free lump sum. For a jackpot in the hundreds of millions, a 30-year payment schedule is a genuinely different financial proposition, and any winner should take independent professional advice.
The UK version is sold only through The National Lottery to players in the UK and Isle of Man. If you're elsewhere, players worldwide take part in the US Powerball draw through licensed lottery concierge and betting services — see our US Powerball guide and lottery concierge comparison for how that works.
Fancy a Shot at the Shared Jackpot?
£4 a line, three draws a week, and a pot that has no ceiling. Remember — tickets close 11.55pm the night before.
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