Powerball began in the US in 1992, grew out of an older multi-state game called Lotto*America, and was the first lottery to draw its numbers from two machines. It started with 15 lotteries; today it's sold by 48 US lotteries and, since Tuesday 21 July 2026, in the UK as a National Lottery game, the first time a lottery outside the US has paid into its jackpot. This is how it got there.
Before Powerball: Lotto*America
In 1988 a group of US state lotteries launched Lotto*America, a game they sold together so they could offer bigger jackpots than any of them could on its own. They ran it through the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), the non-profit association that still runs Powerball today on behalf of its member lotteries.
In April 1992 Lotto*America gave way to a new game, with a new name and a new idea.
1992: the first Powerball draw
The first Powerball draw took place on 22 April 1992, in 15 lotteries. Players chose 5 numbers from 45 and a Powerball, also from 45, and a play cost $1.
The big idea was the second machine. Taking the Powerball from a separate drum of red balls made the jackpot much harder to win, so it rolled over more often and grew bigger, while matching the Powerball alone still paid a small prize. Powerball was the first lottery to draw from two machines, and many games now use the same two-part format, EuroMillions and its Lucky Stars among them.
From 15 lotteries to 48
Powerball grew one lottery at a time. Some of the milestones:
- 2002: the US Virgin Islands joined.
- 2010: from 31 January, US lotteries could sell both Powerball and Mega Millions, which until then had been sold in different states.
- 2013: California joined in April.
- 2014: Puerto Rico joined.
- 2020: Mississippi started selling Powerball in January, becoming the 45th state.
Today every US lottery sells Powerball: 45 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Only Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah don't. Since 1992 the game has raised an estimated $38 billion for good causes in the US, according to MUSL.
From Iowa to Tallahassee
Until 2008 Powerball was drawn in Iowa. In 2009, when Florida joined, the draws moved to Universal Studios in Orlando, and in January 2012 to the Florida Lottery's draw studio in Tallahassee, where they're still held, at 10.59pm Eastern Time. That's why UK players get their results in the early morning: see Powerball draw time.
Bigger jackpots, bigger records
Over the years the game was redesigned several times, usually with more balls and longer odds, so that jackpots would roll over and grow faster. Power Play, a US multiplier for smaller prizes, arrived in 2001; the price went up to $2 in 2012; and in October 2015 the game took its current shape: 5 numbers from 69 and a Powerball from 26. In August 2021 a Monday draw was added. Every change is in Powerball changes over the years.
The 2015 redesign worked almost at once. In January 2016 the jackpot reached $1.586 billion, the first lottery jackpot ever to pass $1 billion, shared by tickets from California, Florida and Tennessee. In November 2022 a single ticket from California won $2.04 billion, still the biggest lottery jackpot in history. The full list is in the biggest Powerball jackpots.
2026: Powerball crosses the Atlantic
On 14 April 2026 Allwyn and MUSL announced together that Powerball was coming to the UK, the first time the game would be sold outside the US. Before it could start, the Secretary of State's Directions to the Gambling Commission had to be amended (the new version is dated 8 July 2026), and the Commission granted Allwyn a new Section 6 licence for the game, effective from 21 July 2026. That makes Powerball a National Lottery game in its own right, built around the American draw and jackpot.
Tickets went on sale at 5am on Tuesday 21 July 2026, online and in National Lottery shops across the UK and the Isle of Man; about 43,500 shops were equipped for the launch. The first shop ticket was sold just after 5am in Pocklington, near York, and the first online ticket was bought on The National Lottery app in Brighton at 5.54am. A UK line cost £4, with prize tiers of its own and the jackpot paid over 30 years; for US players nothing changed.
The first UK draws and the first UK millionaires
The first draw UK players entered was the US draw of Wednesday 22 July, held in the early hours of Thursday 23 July 2026 UK time, with a jackpot advertised in the UK at £308 million, the biggest The National Lottery had offered until then. Nobody won it, but there were 87,698 UK winners in the lower tiers, the biggest prize being £70,188 for Match 4 + Powerball.
The jackpot kept rolling over until the US draw of Wednesday 12 August, when a ticket bought in Illinois won $1.04 billion, advertised in the UK as £542.9 million; the next draw started again from about £11.2 million. By late August, Allwyn said more than 2.6 million people had played Powerball and about 40,000 new players had joined The National Lottery for it.
The UK's first Powerball millionaire came in the draw of Tuesday 1 September 2026: a fixed £1 million for matching all five main numbers. Three more followed, on Tuesday 22 September, Tuesday 13 October and Sunday 1 November. The jackpot was won again in the US on Wednesday 4 November, by a ticket from New Jersey: $847 million, advertised in the UK as £448.9 million. As of 5 November 2026 no UK ticket had yet won the jackpot. In September the government also opened a consultation on banning betting companies from taking bets on the Powerball draw; bets on EuroMillions were banned in the same way in 2018. Every UK winner so far is in the biggest Powerball jackpots.
Powerball at a glance
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Lotto*America, Powerball's forerunner, is launched by a group of US state lotteries |
| 22 April 1992 | First Powerball draw, in 15 lotteries: 5 from 45 + 1 from 45, $1 a play |
| 2001 | Power Play is introduced in the US |
| 2002 | The US Virgin Islands join |
| 2009 | Draws move from Iowa to Orlando, Florida |
| 2010 | US lotteries can sell both Powerball and Mega Millions |
| January 2012 | The price rises to $2; draws move to Tallahassee |
| 2013 | California joins |
| 2014 | Puerto Rico joins |
| October 2015 | Current format: 5 from 69 + 1 from 26 |
| January 2016 | First jackpot over $1 billion: $1.586 billion |
| 2020 | Mississippi becomes the 45th state |
| August 2021 | Monday draws are added |
| November 2022 | Record jackpot of $2.04 billion |
| 14 April 2026 | Allwyn and MUSL announce Powerball for the UK |
| 21 July 2026 | Powerball goes on sale in the UK and the Isle of Man |
| 23 July 2026 | First UK draw (the US draw of Wednesday 22 July) |
| 12 August 2026 | $1.04 billion jackpot won in Illinois, the first jackpot since the UK joined |
| 1 September 2026 | First UK Powerball millionaire (Match 5) |
| 4 November 2026 | $847 million jackpot won in New Jersey |
Frequently asked questions
When did Powerball start?
The first Powerball draw was on 22 April 1992, in 15 US lotteries. It replaced Lotto*America, a multi-state game launched in 1988.
When did Powerball start in the UK?
Tickets went on sale at 5am on Tuesday 21 July 2026, and the first UK draw took place in the early hours of Thursday 23 July 2026.
Who runs Powerball in the UK?
Allwyn, as a National Lottery game under its own licence from the Gambling Commission, in partnership with the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which runs the game in the US.
Is the UK the first country outside the US to play Powerball?
Yes. The National Lottery is the first lottery outside the US to contribute to the Powerball jackpot. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, which joined earlier, are US territories.
Why is it called Powerball?
After the red Powerball, drawn from a second machine, separate from the main numbers. Powerball was the first lottery to draw from two machines.
Last reviewed: . Independent information: official results are published by the lottery that runs the game.