The Powerball drawn today isn't the game that started in 1992. The balls have changed six times, the US price has doubled, Power Play and Double Play have been added, the draws have gone from two a week to three and, since July 2026, there's a UK version with its own price and prizes. Most of the changes had the same aim: bigger jackpots. Here they are, in order.
Every change to the balls and the odds
The matrix is the set of balls you choose from. Each redesign changed the white balls, the red ones or both, and the odds of the jackpot moved with them:
| From | Main numbers | Powerball | Jackpot odds (1 in…) |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1992 | 5 from 45 | 1 from 45 | 54,979,155 |
| November 1997 | 5 from 49 | 1 from 42 | 80,089,128 |
| October 2002 | 5 from 53 | 1 from 42 | 120,526,770 |
| August 2005 | 5 from 55 | 1 from 42 | 146,107,962 |
| January 2009 | 5 from 59 | 1 from 39 | 195,249,054 |
| January 2012 | 5 from 59 | 1 from 35 | 175,223,510 |
| October 2015 | 5 from 69 | 1 from 26 | 292,201,338 |
The odds come from the number of possible combinations in each format. The 2012 change is the only one that made the jackpot easier to win, and it came with a price rise. The UK version, launched in July 2026, uses the 2015 format unchanged.
2001: Power Play, a US-only extra
In March 2001 Powerball added Power Play, an optional multiplier for prizes below the jackpot, at $1 extra per play. Since 2015 it can multiply prizes by up to 10 times when the US jackpot is $150 million or less, and with Power Play the US Match 5 prize is $2 million.
Power Play has never been part of the UK game, and nor has Double Play, a second US draw for the same numbers added in 2021: a UK line is £4, with no add-ons.
2012: $2 a line
In January 2012 the US price doubled from $1 to $2, the first and so far only price change in Powerball's history. The Powerball field shrank from 39 to 35 balls, the Match 5 prize became $1 million and the starting jackpot went up to $40 million. The draws also moved that month to the Florida Lottery's studio in Tallahassee, where they're still held.
2015: the format still used today
In October 2015 the lotteries moved to the format used today: 5 main numbers from 69 and a Powerball from 26. More main numbers made the jackpot much harder to win, from about 1 in 175.2 million to 1 in 292.2 million; fewer red balls made the smaller prizes easier, and in the US the odds of winning anything improved from about 1 in 32 to 1 in 24.9. The US Match 4 + Powerball prize rose from $10,000 to $50,000.
The effect was almost immediate: three months later, in January 2016, the jackpot passed $1 billion for the first time. The records are in the biggest Powerball jackpots.
2020 and 2021: a $20 million start and a third draw
In March 2020, as stay-at-home orders hit ticket sales in the US, the Powerball lotteries lowered the starting jackpot from $40 million to $20 million. A new jackpot still starts at about $20 million in the US; in the UK, where it's advertised in pounds after tax, that's around £10–12 million.
In August 2021 a Monday draw was added to Wednesday and Saturday, US time. For UK players, that's why there are three draws a week, at 3.59am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday: see Powerball draw time.
2026: a UK version with its own prizes
On 21 July 2026 Powerball went on sale in the UK and the Isle of Man as a National Lottery game, the first time a lottery outside the US had joined its jackpot. The UK didn't simply copy the US game. The draw, the numbers and the jackpot are the same; almost everything else has UK rules of its own:
- £4 a line, with no Power Play or Double Play.
- Ten prize tiers, one more than in the US: Match 2 pays a fixed £8, a tier only UK players have.
- A fixed £1 million for Match 5; the other tiers below the jackpot share a percentage of UK sales between UK winners.
- A jackpot paid over 30 years, advertised in pounds after UK tax, with no cash option.
- Draws dated Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, at 3.59am UK time, with sales closing at 11.55pm the night before.
- 18 or over, as for every National Lottery game.
For US players nothing changed: the $2 price, the odds, the prizes and the draw nights all stayed the same. Two things may change next in the UK: The National Lottery says it will look to offer Powerball by Direct Debit at a later date, and a government consultation on banning bets on the Powerball draw closed on 4 November 2026, and its outcome is still to come. The full comparison is in UK vs US Powerball.
What the changes mean for statistics
Because the format has changed, Powerball's number history isn't one continuous series. Main numbers 60 to 69 have only existed since October 2015, and Powerballs 27 to 35 haven't been drawn since then, so counting how often numbers have come up since 1992 mixes different games.
UK players enter the same draw as US players, so the draws before July 2026 are part of the same history. Our statistics look at recent draws, all under the current format. Past results never change the odds of the next draw: how to read Powerball statistics explains why.
Timeline
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 22 April 1992 | First draw, in 15 US lotteries: 5 from 45 + 1 from 45, $1 a play |
| November 1997 | New format: 5 from 49 + 1 from 42 |
| March 2001 | Power Play, an optional US multiplier, is introduced |
| October 2002 | 5 from 53 + 1 from 42 |
| August 2005 | 5 from 55 + 1 from 42 |
| January 2009 | 5 from 59 + 1 from 39; draws move from Iowa to Orlando |
| January 2012 | Price doubles to $2; 1 from 35; Match 5 becomes $1 million; draws move to Tallahassee |
| October 2015 | Current format, 5 from 69 + 1 from 26; 10X Power Play; Match 4 + Powerball rises to $50,000 |
| March 2020 | Starting jackpot lowered from $40 million to $20 million |
| August 2021 | Monday draws and Double Play |
| 14 April 2026 | Powerball for the UK is announced |
| 21 July 2026 | On sale in the UK and the Isle of Man at £4, with UK prize tiers |
| 23 July 2026 | First UK draw |
Frequently asked questions
When did Powerball change to 69 numbers?
In October 2015. Since then you pick 5 main numbers from 1 to 69 and a Powerball from 1 to 26, the format the UK game uses.
When did Powerball go up to $2 in the US?
In January 2012, from $1. It's the only price change in the game's history.
Has the price of Powerball in the UK changed?
No. It has been £4 a line since the launch on 21 July 2026, and the game's licence sets that price unless the Gambling Commission agrees otherwise.
When were Monday Powerball draws added?
In August 2021. For UK players, the Monday night US draw is the one held at 3.59am on Tuesday.
Did anything change for US players when the UK joined?
No. The $2 price, the odds, the prizes and the draw nights stayed the same; UK sales simply add to the jackpot.
Can I play Powerball by Direct Debit?
Not yet. Direct Debit wasn't available at launch, and The National Lottery says it will look to introduce it at a later date.
Last reviewed: . Independent information: official results are published by the lottery that runs the game.