A guide to the USA Powerball Lottery

When it comes to lotteries, the USA Powerball is certainly one of the world’s most popular. It is also very generous when it comes to the prizes on offer, something which keeps players from all over the world coming back to it time after time.

If you live outside of the USA, though, you might be wondering just what the Powerball actually is. Well, it’s a lottery that is offered in 44 US states, as well as American territories like the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by a non-profit organisation, the Multi-State Lottery Association.

USA Powerball – Not Just in America

The advertised jackpot for the lottery is $40 million. This can be paid in 30 instalments as an annuity or in a lump sum. That sort of prize sounds very tempting indeed, but can you play this lottery if you live outside the USA, or you are not an American citizen? Well, yes you can, is the good news.

Here, we’ll tell you all about the USA Powerball, and how you can buy tickets and play the lottery if you live in the UK. You can find out the rules you need to follow, as well as when the lottery is drawn and how much it costs. Read on to find out all you need to know about playing the USA Powerball lottery!us powerball online

Where to Buy US Powerball Tickets

So if you want to play the US Powerball lottery and you live in the United Kingdom, what do you have to do? Well, the good news is that getting your hands on a ticket for this lottery is not difficult at all.

All you need to do is to go online and find one of the websites that offer the facility to buy tickets. There are several websites that offer you this service, and some of them will actually have a proxy in the United States go out and buy a ticket on your behalf. The best website to use for this is The Lotter. Lottoland is another decent option. The website basically acts as a middleman for your lottery participation. You do not need to worry that any prizes you win will be claimed by anyone else.

In the next section of this guide, we will give you a step-by-step simple guide on how to buy a US Powerball ticket online. As you will see, it really is a very easy process and not something that is complicated or difficult at all. You do not need to be a US citizen to participate or to claim your prize, should you win.

How to Buy US Powerball Tickets Online

Here is an easy to follow, step-by-step guide to buying a US Powerball lottery ticket from The Lotter. We recommend this website as one of the most convenient and simplest to use, though there are others out there too.

  1. Head over to The Lotter and log into your account.
  2. Choose the lottery that you wish to play, in this case the US Powerball, and click on the link provided.
  3. Decide how many tickets you want to buy. There are three ways that you can purchase tickets. Standard – you choose your numbers manually or with a random selection on one ticket. Syndicates – where you buy as part of a group of players. Bundles – you can combine the features of solo and syndicate entries.
  4. When you actually come to buying your ticket, you first need to choose the number of lines you want to play.
  5. Then choose your numbers. You can do this manually or by using the Quick Pick function, which choose numbers at random for you.
  6. You can opt to boost your potential prize winnings by multiplying it for $2.50 a line.
  7. Click the play button and you are away!

The Lotter also offers a ‘See My Ticket’ service. This allows you to see a scan of all and any of the tickets that you have purchased to participate in the US Powerball lottery. Additionally, you can opt to be part of the website’s subscription service. This means that you will automatically be entered in each draw. The Lotter also offers you every 10th draw for free.

but us powerball tickets online

How to Play US Powerball?

So now you know the basics on how to actually buy a ticket for the US Powerball, how does this lottery actually work? In this next section we will give you more details about the rules of the lottery, draw times, prices and where you can find the results. After all, there is no point buying a lottery ticket if you’re never going to know whether or not you have won.

US Powerball Rules

So, the first thing that you need to know about when it comes to the US Powerball Lottery is how many numbers are used. There are 69 white balls used in the lottery which carry standard numbers. There are also 26 red Powerballs. The numbers on the red balls can be the same as any of the numbers on the white balls.

The order that the white balls are drawn in does not matter, as the results will always show these numbers in ascending order. You cannot use a red ball with the same number as one of your choices to match two balls. At draw time, the white balls are drawn from a separate machine to the red balls.

How many numbers do I need to pick in the US Powerball Lottery?

So how many of these white and red numbers do you need to pick? You need to choose five of the white numbers. These run from one to 69. You also need to pick one of the red numbers to act as your Powerball. These numbers run from one to 26. You can also add a Powerball multiplier to boost your winnings for an extra fee.

us powerball numbersYour prize winnings will depend on how many of these numbers you can match. The jackpot is paid out for all five numbers and the Powerball. A chart displays the odds of winning the various prizes in the next section of this guide.

What are the odds of winning a prize on the US Powerball Lottery?

This chart allows you to see what the odds are of you picking up a prize of any kind in the US Powerball lottery. Your approximate overall odds of winning any kind of prize are one in 25.

Matched

Odds of winning

Prize

Five main numbers plus Powerball

One in 292,201,338

Jackpot

Five main numbers

One in 11,688,054

$1million

Four main numbers plus Powerball

One in 913,129

$50,000

Four main numbers

One in 36,525

$100

Three main numbers plus Powerball

One in 14,494

$100

Three main numbers

One in 580

$7

Two main numbers plus Powerball

One in 701

$7

One main number plus Powerball

One in 92

$4

Powerball only

One in 38

$4

US Powerball Draw Time

Obviously, if you have bought a ticket in the US Powerball Lottery you will want to know when the results are announced. Powerball draws take place on a Wednesday and a Saturday at 10.59 Eastern Standard Time, in Florida Lottery Studio in Tallahassee, Florida. Eastern Standard Time is five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, so if you are in the UK the draw takes place in the early hours of the morning.

US Powerball Ticket Price

A single line entry in the US Powerball lottery costs just $2. Obviously you will want to boost your chances of winning and save money, by buying lines in more than one draw. The Lotter website makes this very easy to do, with a number of options available according to your needs.

You can buy a series of bundles from The Lotter too. These combine personal and syndicate entries for you to boost your chances of winning. In the UK, you can pick up 12 lines plus personal entry for £12.03, 200 lines plus personal entry for £13.65 and 265 lines plus personal entry for £21.66

Where can you find the US Powerball Results?

In order to check the results, you need to refer to the lottery ticket provider that you have chosen. If you have opted to use The Lotter, you need to head over to their website after the draw to see the results and find out if you have won.

When you see the results, you need to check these things:

  • Your five main numbers, the ones on the white balls that run from one to 69
  • Your Powerball number, the one on the red balls that run from one to 25
  • Check the numbers for all the prize categories, as you might pick up something unexpected
  • Check the date of the draw to make sure you have a ticket for the right draw

How does the Powerball Number Work?

For an extra $1 a game, you can activate the power play option when you buy your ticket. If you activate this option, you can multiply winnings of $50,000 or less by up to five, or even 10, if the jackpot is under $150 million. The Power Play number is drawn separately from the main six numbers. The five numbers plus no power ball prize is double to $2 million if the Power Play option is activated.

Biggest US Powerball Jackpot Winners

Here are the five biggest winners of the US Powerball Lottery:

Winner

Date

Prize

Split three ways between Jon & Lisa Robinson, Maureen Smith & David Kaltschmidt, Marvin & Mae Acosta

13/01/2016

$1.6 billion

Manuel Franco

27/03/2019

$768.4 million

Mavis Wanczyk

23/08/2017

$758.7 million

Split between Lerynne West and Robert Bailey

27/10/2019

$687.8 million

Gloria MacKenzie

18/05/2013

$590.5 million

Powerball Winnings Payout

As we mentioned earlier in this guide, there are two ways that your winnings can be paid if you manage to collect one of the US Powerball’s jackpot prizes. You can have your prize paid to you in one really big lump sum, which would certainly give your bank account a very big, very sudden boost. You usually receive this prize in two separate payments.

But if you are the type of person who would like to enjoy a steady income over a number of years, then you can also have your prize paid to you as an annuity. What does this mean? Well, basically your prize will be divided into instalments that will be paid at regular intervals over the course of your life. Due to considerations like inflation, this also means that you would receive slightly more money than if you opted for the one large payment.

How the US Powerball Annuity Breaks Down

A jackpot prize for the US Powerball lottery can be paid out as an annuity in 30 instalments. Each of these instalments will be 5% higher than the previous one, to compensate for factors such as inflation.

The advertised expected jackpot is the total of the payments that would be due to a jackpot winner is the total amount that would be paid to them if they opted to receive the prize as annuity payments. You do not generally have to choose between a lump sum cash payment and an annuity f you win one of the lottery’s lesser prizes.

US Powerball FAQs

How much is it possible to win by playing the US Powerball lottery? chevron-down-icon
It is possible to win very large jackpots indeed playing on this lottery. In January 2016, for example, Powerball paid out the biggest lottery jackpot in history. It totalled $1.586 billion and was split by three tickets sold in Chino Hills, California, in Munford, Tennessee, and in Melbourne Beach, Florida.
How does buying bundles work for the US Powerball lottery? chevron-down-icon
Bundles are the way that The Lotter offers for you to receive the benefits of both personal play and playing in a syndicate. Bundles allow you to pick your own numbers, which you can’t do in a standard syndicate. Bundles will always contain one personal entry and at least one syndicate entry for you. There are different bundles available on The Lotter website.
How do I claim my prize if I win using a site like The Lotter? chevron-down-icon
If you are lucky enough to claim a win on the US Powerball while using The Lotter, you will be informed via SMS (text message) or email. Prizes will be paid directly into your account at the website. If you win one of the really big prizes, you will be invited to pick up your prize in person in the USA, with a flight paid for by The Lotter.
Meet the Author
As a trained journalist, I enjoy uncovering the hidden details of slot games and casino sites. Whether this means digging deep into an operator's terms and conditions, or into the reputation of a games provider, I've got you covered. You can count on my reviews to give you facts and figures, but I also know what makes for a fun and engaging experience! Overall, my job is to help you find a casino site or game that suits not only your budget and playing style, but your personality too.
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