POWERBALL ADDED THE UK TO A 49-LOTTERY LINEUP
UK Powerball is now a reality, with British players sharing a jackpot pool with Americans.
The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which runs Powerball, and Allwyn UK, which operates the UK National Lottery, announced their agreement on April 14, 2026, CNN reported.
The deal still needed approval from the UK gambling commission at the time.
“Powerball is jumping the pond,” CNN wrote, calling it the first time a lottery outside the United States would contribute to the Powerball jackpot.
The move took the number of participating lottery jurisdictions from 48 U.S. lotteries to 49, including the UK, ABC Columbia reported.
What happened next
UK ticket sales began July 21, 2026, through National Lottery retailers and online channels, Allwyn said.
The Evening Standard reported that the first shop ticket was bought at a Sewell On The Go in Pocklington, York, in the early hours of launch day. The first online ticket was bought in Brighton later that morning.
Tickets cost £4 per line. Allwyn said the UK game offered an estimated £300 million jackpot at launch.
UK players pick five main numbers plus a Powerball number, or go with a Lucky Dip. Draws take place in the early hours UK time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at the Powerball studio in Florida.
How the UK game differs
UK and US players share the jackpot, but the smaller prizes are not the same on both sides.
UK jackpot prizes are paid out over three decades, while US winners can choose an annuity or a cash payout.
The UK version also has a fixed prize for matching just two main numbers, a tier open only to UK players. Allwyn said matching all five main numbers wins a fixed £1 million.
What the US side said
The California Lottery said the U.S. game would stay as it is. “There will be no changes to how the game is played in California or the U.S.,” it said.
That means US tickets stay at $2, with three drawings a week. The lottery compared the UK addition to adding another US jurisdiction, as happened with Mississippi.
Don’t expect the list to keep growing right away. “At this time, there are no specific plans to expand Powerball beyond the United Kingdom,” the California Lottery said.
It added that any future participation would need regulatory approval plus operational and security reviews.
Powerball has made headlines before, from the record jackpot winner revealed as an Arkansas mayor’s younger brother.
Latest from the UK
The big jackpot went unclaimed in the latest drawing, but a UK player still cashed in. On October 13, 2026, NewsWest9 reported that a UK player won a £1 million lower-tier prize in Monday’s drawing, the third such UK win since the UK joined.
