The first UK Powerball prizes expire in January: time to check your summer tickets
The first prizes from UK Powerball are about to reach their claim deadline. If you played over the summer and never checked your tickets, now is the time.
Powerball went on sale in the UK on 21 July, and the first draw with UK players took place in the early hours of Thursday 23 July. Like every National Lottery draw game, Powerball gives winners 180 days from the draw to claim. For that first draw, the window closes on Tuesday 19 January 2027.
The 180-day rule, draw by draw
All Powerball prizes won in the UK must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date. These are the deadlines for the first draws:
| Draw (UK date) | Last day to claim |
|---|---|
| Thursday 23 July 2026 | Tuesday 19 January 2027 |
| Sunday 26 July 2026 | Friday 22 January 2027 |
| Tuesday 28 July 2026 | Sunday 24 January 2027 |
| Thursday 30 July 2026 | Tuesday 26 January 2027 |
| Sunday 2 August 2026 | Friday 29 January 2027 |
| Tuesday 4 August 2026 | Sunday 31 January 2027 |
From then on, a new batch of prizes reaches its deadline three times a week, in step with the draws. The dates follow the UK draw date (Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday), not the US one, which falls the evening before. And don’t leave it to the last day: bigger prizes need a claim that has to be checked.
Who is most likely to miss out
Mostly players with paper tickets. If you play online, The National Lottery lets you know when you’ve won, and prizes up to £500 go straight into your account. Tickets bought in a shop are the ones that end up forgotten in a wallet, a coat pocket or a kitchen drawer.
Allwyn says most unclaimed prizes are the smaller ones. Even so, Powerball’s lower tiers are worth checking: apart from the fixed £8 and £1 million prizes, UK prizes are shared among UK winners, and a Match 4 has paid more than £1,800.
If your ticket is lost, stolen or damaged, don’t wait: you need to contact The National Lottery within 30 days of the draw.
What happens to prizes nobody claims
Once the 180 days are up, the prize can’t be recovered. The money, along with any interest it has earned, goes to National Lottery-funded projects across the UK, the same good causes that already receive around £33 million a week from players.
How to check your tickets
- Use our ticket checker: enter your numbers and choose a date range in the ticket checker to check every draw since July in one go.
- Scan or ask: scan a paper ticket with The National Lottery app, or ask any National Lottery retailer to check it.
- Claim the right way: up to £100 at any retailer (some pay up to £500), up to £50,000 online, and above that, call The National Lottery to arrange your claim.
Checking an old ticket costs nothing. Playing should always stay a bit of fun: set a budget, only spend what you can afford and remember you must be 18 or over to play. Free, confidential help is available 24/7 from the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133.