Powerball
Powerball is a U.S. lottery which regularly offers jackpots worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The grand prize has even been known to go past $2 billion, setting up the largest lottery win of all time.
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Power Play: 2x
About Powerball
The jackpot can be paid out as an annuity much like the top prize in EuroDreams, providing financial rewards for 30 years, but most winners take the reduced lump sum offer.
Powerball draws take place at 22:59 EST in Tallahassee, Florida, every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night. Find out more about how the game works.
How to Play Powerball
Powerball is available at authorised retailers in 48 U.S. jurisdictions, while it is also possible to choose numbers online from many locations around the world. Here are the steps to follow:
- Choose five numbers from 1 to 69, plus one Powerball between 1 and 26.
- Decide whether to add the Power Play option.
- Play just the next draw, or enter multiple consecutive draws.
- Purchase your entries at a cost of $2 each, then wait for the draw to take place.
Powerball Odds and Prizes
You can win Powerball prizes in nine different prize levels, depending on how many numbers you match. In fact, you are guaranteed to receive a prize as long as you match the Powerball number.
All the prizes are fixed amounts which stay the same in every draw, except for the jackpot. This starts at $20 million and grows every time it is not won. There is no limit to how high it can go, and it has reached $1 billion a few times. Edwin Castro, from California, won a record $2.04 billion in November 2022.
If there are multiple jackpot winners, the prize is shared between them.
Here are all the different prize levels, the associated payout for each one and the odds of winning.
| Numbers Matched | Odds of Winning | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 5 + Powerball | 1 in 292,201,338 | Jackpot |
| 5 | 1 in 11,688,053 | $1 million |
| 4 + Powerball | 1 in 913,219 | $50,000 |
| 4 | 1 in 36,525 | $100 |
| 3 + Powerball | 1 in 14,494 | $100 |
| 3 | 1 in 579 | $7 |
| 2 + Powerball | 1 in 701 | $7 |
| 1 + Powerball | 1 in 91 | $4 |
| Powerball | 1 in 38 | $4 |
| The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.87 | ||
Power Play
If you add Power Play to your Powerball ticket, at a cost of $1 per play, any non-jackpot prize you win will be increased. A separate Power Play draw takes place to determine which multiplier will be applied – this can be 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X (or even 10X if the advertised jackpot is $150 million or lower). The Match 5 prize is always doubled to $2 million, regardless of which Power Play number is selected. Here are all the possible prizes if you add Power Play:
| Prize Level | 2X Power Play | 3X Power Play | 4X Power Play | 5X Power Play | 10X Power Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 5 + Powerball | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot |
| Match 5 | $2 million | $2 million | $2 million | $2 million | $2 million |
| Match 4 + Powerball | $100,000 | $150,000 | $200,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 |
| Match 4 | $200 | $300 | $400 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Match 3 + Powerball | $200 | $300 | $400 | $500 | $1,000 |
| Match 3 | $14 | $21 | $28 | $35 | $70 |
| Match 2 + Powerball | $14 | $21 | $28 | $35 | $70 |
| Match 1 + Powerball | $8 | $12 | $16 | $20 | $40 |
| Match 0 + Powerball | $8 | $12 | $16 | $20 | $40 |
Double Play
Double Play is an extra option you can add to your Powerball ticket, giving you the chance to win amazing prizes up to $10 million. Your already selected Powerball numbers will be used for the Double Play draw and it will cost you an additional $1 per play to add this feature.
Draws are held right after the Powerball draw takes place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday evening.
Double Play is currently available in only 20 jurisdictions, namely Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington.