UK Powerball: A US Draw, Paid in Pounds

Can you play Powerball from the UK? Yes, through The National Lottery, but what you buy is UK Powerball: a separate £4 game run by Allwyn, not a ticket in the American game. Your numbers are checked against the Powerball draw held in the US, and only the jackpot is pooled with American players. Every other prize is paid in pounds, can be won only in the UK and Isle of Man, and is claimed under National Lottery rules.

A National Lottery game settled by the US draw

The Gambling Commission issued Allwyn Entertainment Ltd a Section 6 licence for the game with effect from 21 July 2026, "to introduce the US draw-based game Powerball to the UK".

The draw is organised by MUSL (Multi-State Lottery Association), which coordinates the US Powerball game and confirms the winning numbers. The game procedures call UK Powerball "a separate game to the US Powerball game", yet its winners "are determined using the results of the Powerball Draw which takes place in the US."

• Shared with the US: the draw, and the jackpot, which is split equally between every jackpot-winning entry in the UK game and every jackpot-winning entry in the US game.

• UK and Isle of Man only: every other prize. These "are available to be won in the UK and Isle of Man only".

An entry is five numbers from 1 to 69 plus a Powerball number from 1 to 26, chosen by you or by Lucky Dip. The game is sold online and by retailers in the UK and Isle of Man, with separate procedures for each.

Sales close the evening before the draw

Powerball is drawn in the US at approximately 11pm Florida time on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings. Because of the time difference, UK Powerball draws take place "in the early hours (UK time) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays", while UK and Isle of Man sales close at 11:55pm the day before:

Online, check your numbers before accepting them on the "Confirm Play Slip" screen, because an entry bought on the website or app can't be cancelled after that. The procedures also say a selection that doesn't appear in "My games" hasn't been entered into any draw. The latest winning numbers are on the UK Powerball results page on lottery.fm.

Ten prize categories, two with a fixed amount

An entry wins in one category at most, the highest it qualifies for. Odds are per entry and match the official prize table.

A pari-mutuel prize is that share of the draw's sales divided between the category's winning entries, so it varies from draw to draw. The procedures tie it to "the number of Powerball Entries sold, the number of Powerball Entries that match the same numbers as You and currency exchange rates". All prizes are rounded down to the nearest 10 pence.

The fixed prizes can be capped, but only in what the procedures call "very rare circumstances", such as popular number combinations producing more winners than Allwyn can pay the stated prizes for. Match 5 and Match 2 winners would then get £8 each, or less in the "extremely unlikely event" that the capped prize fund can't cover that; anything left after the £8 prizes is shared equally among the Match 5 winners.

At 1 in 292,201,338, the jackpot is a genuine long shot, and a Lucky Dip has exactly the same chance as numbers you pick yourself. Every draw is random and independent, so past results, including the numbers drawn most often, carry no predictive value. Each extra entry costs another £4 and leaves the odds on every entry as listed.

A jackpot advertised in pounds, paid over 30 years

Per the official prize table, the jackpot fund combines the share of sales Allwyn allocates to it, the US Powerball lotteries' contributions, any amount carried over from the previous draw if it had no jackpot winner, and anything MUSL adds at its discretion from a US Powerball reserve fund.

The advertised figure estimates what a UK winner will "have received in total at the end of the 30-year payment period", at the exchange rates applying when it's advertised. The final sterling value is set at the rates applying after a claim is validated and MUSL has sent the money, so the amount paid can differ from the one advertised.

From the phone call to the first payment

The Game Specific Rules set out a jackpot winner's route:

1. Call within the claim period: the National Lottery Line if you played at a retailer, the Customer Care Team if you played online.

2. Claim in person, starting with a Validation Meeting at Allwyn's Head Office or another UK location it agrees, where you complete a Prize Claim Form and US tax forms. There are at least two meetings before the first-year payment.

3. Wait for the transfer. MUSL sends the fund, or your share of it, less any applicable US Withholding Tax, and Allwyn converts it to sterling.

4. Choose the first-year payment: 1% or 2% of the converted fund, decided at a Payment Meeting with the broker and paid by bank transfer or cheque, at Allwyn's discretion.

5. The rest, less arranging costs such as broker fees, buys a 29-year annuity from a provider authorised in the UK or Isle of Man. It is "stepped", rising each year, with no equal-instalment option. Once set up, it can't be changed, surrendered or cashed in, though its death benefit protections pay a lump sum to your estate if you die before the payments end.

When a lump sum replaces the annuity

There's no standard cash option. Apart from any statutory cancellation right, the Game Specific Rules say "there is no cash alternative to the Annuity Policy" except in these cases:

• Rule 2.9: a claim by a deceased player's personal representative.

• Rule 5: a syndicate of more than 35 members, whose manager chooses a lump sum or a first-year payment plus a single annuity in the manager's name.

• Rule 6: a winner not resident in the UK or Isle of Man on the date of the claim.

• Rule 7: at Allwyn's discretion, if an annuity can't be arranged for reasons outside its or the broker's control, or where it reasonably considers it necessary.

The lump sum is the converted fund less any US Withholding Tax. The rules say it is lower than the advertised jackpot, since that figure includes the expected return from investing under the 29-year annuity.

Tax on a jackpot that starts in the US

In the UK, lottery winnings are tax-free, but the official documents add caveats for the Powerball jackpot because its money originates in the US. The procedures say the final value of the jackpot prize fund "may be subject to applicable taxes". The Game Specific Rules state: "Depending on Your individual circumstances, and where necessary, US Withholding Tax may be deducted", with anything withheld paid to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For the annuity payments, depending on your individual circumstances, "the capital element is usually tax-free and the interest element is subject to applicable tax." Allwyn recommends independent financial advice, including tax advice. This is general information, not tax advice.

Questions UK Powerball players ask

How long do I have to claim a prize?

UK Powerball has a claim period of 180 days. The online procedures take the definition from The National Lottery's Rules for Draw-Based Games Played Online, and for the jackpot, the Game Specific Rules say a prize not claimed by the deadline is lost.

What if Lucky Dip gives me the same numbers twice?

If two or more Lucky Dip selections for the same draw contain the same six numbers, the online procedures ask you to phone the Customer Care Team within 120 minutes of buying, before sales close, or before the lines close that day, whichever is earliest. After investigating, Allwyn may refund a duplicate at its discretion. MUSL doesn't allow entries to be withdrawn from a draw, so the refunded entry stays in, but neither it nor any prize it wins is yours.

How old do I need to be?

18 or over. The government's December 2020 response to its consultation on the minimum age set it at 18 for all National Lottery products, with the change coming into force on 1 October 2021.

If gambling stops feeling fun, you can talk to someone for free, in confidence, at any hour — the National Gambling Helpline (GamCare) is on 0808 8020 133.

Always confirm winning numbers, prize amounts, and deadlines with the official operator before acting on a ticket — the operator's published results are the only ones that count.

Sources

• The National Lottery (Allwyn UK) · Edition 1, effective 21 July 2026, viewed 4 October 2026 · Powerball Online Game Procedures · The National Lottery's Powerball game procedures

• The National Lottery (Allwyn UK) · Edition 1, effective 21 July 2026, viewed 4 October 2026 · Game Specific Rules for the Powerball Jackpot Prize · The National Lottery's Powerball jackpot rules

• Gambling Commission · last updated 20 July 2026 · The current National Lottery licence · Gambling Commission page on the Powerball Section 6 licence

• Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, on GOV.UK · 8 December 2020 · Government response to the consultation on the minimum age to play National Lottery games · Government response on the National Lottery minimum age

• lottery.fm game facts database · facts as of 5 October 2026 · UK Powerball — game facts · UK Powerball game facts on lottery.fm