Britons will soon have the opportunity to vie for a staggering £1 billion jackpot in the upcoming lottery draw. Allwyn, the operator of the National Lottery, has officially announced that tickets for the UK version of the renowned American Powerball game will be available for purchase starting on July 21, with the draw scheduled for July 23.
Anticipated to generate approximately £1 billion for charitable causes in the UK over its initial five-year period, this marks the first occurrence of the Powerball game outside the United States, following the introduction of the pan-European Euromillions draw in 2004.
Tickets, priced at £4 per line, can be acquired both online and in-store until 11:55 pm the night before the draws on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The draws will then occur around 4 am the following morning – Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays – from the Powerball studio in Florida.
Participants will select five main numbers ranging from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26, or opt for a Lucky Dip. They will compete against players from 48 lotteries in the United States, with exclusive features tailored for the UK market.
Unique to the UK game are prize tiers such as “match two main numbers” with a fixed £8 prize and “match five main numbers” with a fixed £1 million prize. To secure a jackpot of at least £12 million, players must match all five main numbers and the Powerball.
Unlike traditional draws, there is no limit to the number of rollovers, allowing the jackpot to escalate. Allwyn projects a monumental £1 billion jackpot prize, with odds of one in 292 million for claiming the grand prize.
Contrary to most National Lottery winners who receive tax-free cash upfront, recipients of the top Powerball prize will receive payments over a 30-year period. For a potential £1 billion win, this translates to over £30 million annually for three decades, with any remaining amount to be distributed to their estate should the winner pass away prematurely.
The largest Powerball winner to date is Edwin Castro, who secured just over $2 billion in the California state lottery in November 2022. Castro opted for a lump-sum payment, reducing the prize to nearly $1 billion after taxes.
Castro used his winnings to purchase luxury properties, sports cars, and fund charitable efforts in his hometown of Altadena, which suffered severe wildfire damage the previous year. The Allwyn CEO expressed enthusiasm for the UK launch of Powerball, highlighting the immense prize potential and support for charitable projects.
With the inaugural draw approaching, Allwyn encourages participation in the upcoming ticket sales and eagerly awaits the possibility of crowning the first UK Powerball winner.