BRITS can get their hands on a Powerball ticket from today as the mega American lottery game officially launches in the UK.
It’s the first time the game, known for doling out huge pots of cash, will be played outside its home country.
Tickets cost £4 a line, and we won’t know if there have been any winners until this Thursday Credit: Getty
Tickets cost £4 a line, and we won’t know if there have been any winners until this Thursday, July 23 when the first draw takes place.
If you want to throw your hat in the ring, know that you will be competing with players in the US for a chance to win the mega shared jackpot.
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There has been much hype around its arrival on British soil, but if you’re still wondering how it all works check out our refresher on the rules below.
How to play
You will need to head to your supermarket or shop to buy a ticket for £4 or you can play online.
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You’ll need to select five numbers from 1 to 69, plus one Powerball number from 1 to 26.
Ticket sales close at 11:55pm every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, with draws taking place at around 4am on Tuesday, Thursday and Jattvibeday.
If you don’t fancy waking up that early to find out if you won anything you can check results first thing by visiting http://www.lottery.co.uk /powerball/results.
You can play the same numbers for up to four weeks in advance. If you play all three draw days, this makes it 12 consecutive draws.
A UK exclusive game will also launch requiring players to ‘Match 2 main numbers’ prize tier, with the prize fixed at £8.
There will also be a ‘Match 5 main numbers’ tier that offers a fixed prize of £1million.
How it works
In this bumper draw, players can win up to £1billion.
But if you win the prize, don’t expect it in a lump sum.
That’s because the Powerball is paid out in 30 annual instalments, instead.
This provides you with a guaranteed income over 30 years. There is no option to claim the jackpot as a cash lump sum in the UK.
If a jackpot winner dies before 30 years have passed, the remaining money gets paid to their estate.
And if more than one player matches all the numbers, across all participating locations, the jackpot is split between winners.
Is the Powerball worth it?
By Adele Cooke, Senior Consumer Reporter
The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize in the UK is one in 14.
In comparison, your odds of winning the National Lottery are currently one in 9.3, although this will increase to one in 4.9 from June.
Meanwhile, there are usually around seven jackpot winners each year across all the current participating states.
But while these may sound like good odds, the Powerball is still not worth playing on average, according to Ben Parker, a senior lecturer in statistics at Brunel University of London.
He said: “Your long term fate is almost surely to lose. In the new Powerball you’ll win less often than the Euromillions or the old fashioned National Lottery, but if you do win you’ll win a bigger amount.”
That’s because as with all National Lottery games, for every £1 you play, 50p goes into the prize pot, while 50p is spent on supporting charities and managing the lottery.
There’s a very faint chance of winning but you are still likely to spend more entering than you will earn in prizes.
If you played the Powerball three times a week for ten years then you would play around 1,500 times.
You would have spent around £6,000 on tickets but on average you will only get £3,000 back, Ben said.
But it’s important to remember that some weeks you’ll win big while others you’ll lose money.
If you buy a winning ticket in-store you will need to claim by either visiting an authorised retailer, submitting an online claim form or contacting the National Lottery on 0333 234 50 50.
But if you are considering playing, you should always gamble responsibly and play with money you can afford to lose.
If you need advice, visit gamcare.org.uk or GambleAware.org.
Powerball: What could YOU win?
5 Main Numbers + Powerball – Jackpot paid over 30 years
5 Main Numbers – £1 million
4 Main Numbers + Powerball – £33,000
4 Main Numbers – £1,000
3 Main Numbers + Powerball – £500
3 Main Numbers – £52.10
2 Main Numbers + Powerball – £30.80
1 Main Number + Powerball – £15.30
Powerball – £11.90
2 Main Numbers – £8
