Powerball Officially Launches in the UK, Giving Players a Shot at Massive Billion-Dollar Jackpots

The world's biggest jackpot lottery has officially arrived in the UK. For the first time ever, UK players can buy Powerball tickets and compete alongside players in the United States for life-changing prizes that can grow into the billions.

Powerball tickets are now available through The National Lottery for £4 per line. The first UK draw is scheduled for Thursday, with the current jackpot sitting at an incredible £300 million. Any jackpot winner will receive payments spread over 30 years.

Here's what you should know:

• Ticket price: £4 per line
• Current jackpot: £300 million
• Draws: Three times every week
• Location of draws: Florida, USA
• Ticket deadline: 11:55 p.m. on Wednesday
• Draw time: Around 4:00 a.m. UK time on Thursday

The launch marks a major milestone because it is the first time Powerball has expanded outside the United States. The game is famous for creating the record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot won in November 2022 and now gives UK players access to jackpots starting at £12 million, with no upper limit.

Allwyn confirmed that the first retail Powerball ticket in the UK was sold shortly after 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday at Sewell On The Go in Pocklington, York. The first online ticket was purchased through The National Lottery app by a player in Brighton at 5:54 a.m.

Extra prizes designed just for UK players

The UK version of Powerball includes exclusive prize levels that aren't available in the United States.

• Match two main numbers: Win a fixed £8
• Match five main numbers: Win a guaranteed £1 million
• Other prize amounts will vary depending on the winning numbers and the total number of winners.

According to Allwyn, the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 14, while the chance of hitting the jackpot is approximately 1 in 292 million.

Andy Carter, Senior Winners' Advisor at Allwyn, said huge lottery wins often change people's goals. Instead of simply buying luxury items, many winners begin thinking about helping family members, supporting charities, investing in their communities, or making lifelong dreams come true. He added that Powerball gives UK players the opportunity to dream bigger than ever before by offering the largest jackpot ever available through The National Lottery.

The Powerball launch comes shortly after The National Lottery introduced its biggest Lotto update since 1994. Since June 7, every £2 Lotto ticket now gives players two chances to win, a change expected to increase the number of Lotto millionaires each year from roughly 140 to around 345.

Behind the scenes, Allwyn also completed a major £450 million technology upgrade, moving 18 million player accounts and more than 3 billion historical transactions onto a modern platform while improving systems used by lottery retailers across the UK.

The company's latest financial figures show strong momentum as well. National Lottery sales reached £8.1 billion in 2025, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year. During the same period, the lottery generated more than £1.7 billion for good causes—including healthcare, education, arts, sports, heritage projects, and charities—while contributing £967 million in tax revenue.