The Powerball ticket in the UK

Buying online: the play slip

1. Log in to your National Lottery account on the website or app. You need to be in the UK or the Isle of Man.
2. For each line, choose five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball from 1 to 26, or use Lucky Dip. The play slip starts with four lines: add more or remove the ones you don't need.
3. Choose Monday, Wednesday or Saturday, or all three. They're the evenings sales close, at 11.55pm, for the draws in the early hours of Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
4. Choose how many weeks to play, up to four.
5. Review your lines, draws and total cost (£4 per line, per draw) and confirm.

Your entries then appear in 'My games'. That's your confirmation: if an entry isn't shown there, it hasn't been entered. There's no paper ticket to lose, prizes up to £500 go straight into your account and The National Lottery lets you know if you win. Entries can't be cancelled once you've confirmed the play slip, and Direct Debit isn't available for Powerball yet.

Buying in a shop: play slip, Lucky Dip or Multi-Draw

1. Pick up a Powerball play slip and choose the day you want to play: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday or more than one.
2. Choose how many weeks to play, up to four.
3. On each line, mark five numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball from 1 to 26, or mark Lucky Dip.
4. Take it to the counter and pay £4 per line, per draw, before 11.55pm and before the shop closes.
5. Check the printed ticket before you leave: the numbers, the draw dates and the price.

You don't need a play slip for a Lucky Dip: just ask at the counter. A ticket for several draws is a Multi-Draw ticket, so keep it until the last draw it covers. If it wins before then, the prize is paid and you get an exchange ticket for the draws still to come; make sure you're given it. The play slip itself is never proof of entry: only the printed ticket counts.

What's printed on your ticket

• Your numbers: the five main numbers and the Powerball for every line, including Lucky Dips.
• The draw dates the ticket is valid for.
• The price you paid.
• A serial number and barcode, which retailers' terminals and The National Lottery app use to check it.
• The National Lottery's address on the back, used for claims by post.

Keep the serial number readable: it's how Allwyn validates a winning ticket, and a ticket that can't be validated can cause problems when you claim.

Write your name on it and keep it safe

In the UK, the owner of a ticket is whoever holds it until a name and address are written on the back. Once you've written yours, only you can claim its prizes, so do it as soon as you get the ticket.

The rules also make you responsible for keeping it in good condition, away from heat, direct sunlight, grease, oils and plastics. Keep it flat and dry, don't post photos of it online and don't throw it away until the last draw it covers has taken place.

Checking your ticket

Results appear from around 5am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Type your lines into our ticket checker, choosing the draw date, or a date range for a ticket that covers several draws, and it shows the matches and prize tier for each line. The winning numbers and UK prizes for every draw are on our results page.

Look for the UK date of the draw: Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday. The US, and some websites, use the date of the evening before, which is why the same draw can appear under two different days.

You can also scan a paper ticket with The National Lottery app or ask any National Lottery retailer to check it. If the terminal can't read the barcode, the retailer can enter the serial number by hand.

Mistakes, refunds and cancellations

Powerball tickets can't be cancelled: MUSL, which runs the draw, doesn't allow it. A shop can only take a ticket back for a refund if:

• It was issued by mistake, can't be read or is incomplete.
• It has two or more identical Lucky Dips for the same draw.

To return it, mark the VOID box on the ticket and take it back to the terminal you bought it from within two hours, or before sales close for the draw or the shop stops selling tickets that day, if that's sooner. A Multi-Draw ticket can only be returned before its first draw, and you can't return a Lucky Dip just because you don't like the numbers. A returned ticket still takes part in the draw, but it's no longer yours. Online, if you get duplicate Lucky Dips, call Customer Care within 120 minutes of buying them.

Lost, stolen or damaged tickets

If you think a lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged ticket would have won, tell Allwyn in writing straight away. Your notice must arrive by 5pm on the 30th day after the draw and should include your name, address, email and phone number, when and where you bought the ticket, the draws it was for, how many lines you played, your numbers and what you think happened to it.

Send it to Allwyn's Winner Services Department, The National Lottery, PO Box 287, Watford, WD18 9TT, or by email to [email protected]. If Allwyn is satisfied your claim is valid, it may pay the prize after the claim period for that draw has ended. A notice that arrives after 30 days, but within 180, can only be considered if someone hands the ticket in. A damaged ticket can be posted to the same address, at your own risk.

These are The National Lottery's general rules for every draw-based game bought in a shop, so they apply to Powerball just as they do to Lotto or EuroMillions. Entries bought online can't be lost: they're in your account.

Frequently asked questions