The biggest Powerball jackpots and UK winners

The billion-dollar jackpots

Eight Powerball jackpots have reached $1 billion or more. The amounts are the US advertised jackpots, in dollars before tax; the cash value is what a winner taking the lump sum received, also before tax. Dates are US draw dates.

The record and the other giants

The biggest lottery jackpot in history is $2.04 billion, won by a single ticket bought in Altadena, California, in the draw of 7 November 2022; the winner took the cash value of $997.6 million. The first jackpot ever to pass $1 billion came earlier, on 13 January 2016: $1.586 billion, shared by three tickets from Chino Hills in California, Melbourne Beach in Florida and Munford in Tennessee.

2025 brought two more giants: $1.787 billion in September, shared by tickets from Missouri and Texas, and $1.817 billion on Christmas Eve, won by a single ticket from Arkansas. California has four of the eight billion-dollar jackpots, mainly because it's the most populous US state.

The biggest jackpot since the UK joined

UK players have played for the jackpot since the draw of Thursday 23 July 2026, when it was advertised in the UK at £308 million. With no winner on either side of the Atlantic it rolled over draw after draw, until the US draw of Wednesday 12 August 2026, the UK's Thursday 13 August, when a ticket bought in Illinois won $1.04 billion, with a cash value of $450.5 million.

In the UK that same jackpot was advertised as £542.9 million (£542,929,942), the biggest jackpot The National Lottery has ever offered. Had a UK ticket won it alone, that was roughly what its holder could have expected to receive, after tax, over 30 years. After the win the jackpot started again, at £11.19 million in the UK for the draw of Sunday 16 August.

It then rolled over in every draw until the US draw of Wednesday 4 November 2026, the UK's Thursday 5 November, when a ticket bought in New Jersey won $847 million, with a cash value of $363.1 million. In the UK that jackpot was advertised as £448.9 million, and the next one started again at £10 million for Sunday 8 November.

UK winners so far

No UK ticket has won the Powerball jackpot yet (as of 5 November 2026). The biggest UK wins so far are the fixed £1 million prizes for matching all five main numbers without the Powerball. There have been four:

Match 4 + Powerball is shared between UK winners, so it varies a lot: in the first 46 UK draws it paid between £11,769.40 and £70,195.50. Adding up The National Lottery's published prize breakdowns for those draws, from Thursday 23 July to Thursday 5 November 2026, UK players won about 2.43 million prizes worth about £37.5 million. Every draw's numbers are on our results page.

What a UK jackpot win would look like

A UK Powerball jackpot isn't paid like a EuroMillions or Lotto jackpot. It's paid only over 30 years, and claiming it takes more steps:

1. Call The National Lottery to register the win, well within the 180 days you have to claim.
2. A validation meeting with Allwyn, at its offices or elsewhere in the UK, to check the ticket and your identity and fill in the claim form and the US tax forms, which are sent to MUSL. For the annuity you'll need your birth certificate or a copy of your full passport.
3. A payment meeting with the annuity broker, where you choose your first payment: 1% or 2% of the jackpot prize fund, paid by Allwyn.
4. 29 yearly payments follow, from an annuity with an insurer, rising every year. The annuity can't be cashed in or changed.
5. If the winner dies before all the payments have been made, a lump sum goes to their estate.

To get a feel for the numbers, divide the advertised jackpot by 30: the £542.9 million of August 2026 would have averaged about £18.1 million a year. Because the payments rise every year, the early ones are below that average and the later ones above it. The first payment isn't taxed; each annuity payment is part capital, usually tax-free, and part interest, which is taxed, and the advertised figure already allows for UK tax at the highest rate. Depending on the winner's circumstances, for example if they're not a UK tax resident, US withholding tax may also apply, so a jackpot winner should take advice from a qualified professional.

A lump sum is only possible in exceptional cases set out in the rules, such as a syndicate of more than 35 members that chooses one, or a winner who doesn't live in the UK or the Isle of Man when claiming, and it's less than the advertised jackpot. The details are in the Powerball jackpot and how to claim a Powerball prize.

Can UK winners stay anonymous?

Yes. The National Lottery never requires a winner to go public: asked whether a Powerball jackpot winner has to take publicity, its answer is “Absolutely not”. Under the rules that govern The National Lottery, a winner's identity can't be disclosed without their consent unless the law requires it.

There's one difference for the jackpot. Because the money comes from the US, Allwyn has to share the winner's identity and some personal details with MUSL and the annuity broker, and it says it can't guarantee how those third parties will treat them. In the US, by contrast, each state has its own law, and some have to give out a winner's name on request. UK prizes below the jackpot, including the £1 million Match 5, follow the usual National Lottery rule: publicity is entirely the winner's choice.

Why Powerball jackpots get so big

• Long odds. At 1 in 292,201,338 per line, the jackpot often goes weeks or months without a winner.
• No cap. Unlike EuroMillions, it keeps rolling over until someone wins it.
• 49 lotteries. Sales from 48 US lotteries and, since July 2026, The National Lottery all feed the same jackpot.
• Big jackpots feed themselves. The bigger the jackpot, the more people play, and the faster it grows.

How the two games compare is in Powerball vs EuroMillions.

Records don't change your odds

A line in a record-breaking draw has exactly the same chance as one in a draw with a £10 million jackpot: 1 in 292,201,338. What changes is the prize, and the number of people playing, which makes it more likely that a jackpot would be shared. The odds for every tier are in Powerball odds, and if a big jackpot ever tempts you to spend more than you planned, responsible gambling explains the limits you can set in your National Lottery account.

Frequently asked questions