If there's anything you need to know about Powerball, you can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the game below, including how to play, how to buy tickets, why Power Play isn't available in California, and much more. If your question isn't answered here, head over to the Information page to find detailed guides and articles covering all aspects of Powerball.
Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida, at approximately 10:59pm ET.
Ticket sales close approximately one hour before the draw, but cut-off times may vary between states. We would advise that you check the exact sales cut-off time with your state lottery provider.
You can enter Powerball draws in advance, but how far in advance will vary between states. In California, for example, you can play up to 10 draws in advance, while in Florida you can enter up to 39 consecutive drawings at once.
If you don't want to choose your Powerball numbers yourself, you can ask your retailer for a Quick Pick to receive a line of randomly generated numbers. In most states you can only Quick Pick an entire line, but some allow you to do it for just the main numbers or the Powerball. See the Quick Pick vs Own Numbers page to learn more.
Power Play is an optional add-on to the main Powerball draw that you can enter for an extra $1 per line. If you opt in, any non-jackpot prizes you win will be multiplied by up to 10 times their original value. Your prize could be multiplied by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or even 10x, based on the Power Play number selected shortly before the main Powerball draw.
The Match 5 prize of $1 million will only increase to a maximum of $2 million, regardless of which multiplier is selected, and the 10x multiplier is only in play when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less.
By law, all Californian lottery prizes must be pari-mutuel, meaning they are determined by the number of tickets sold and the number of winners in each prize tier. As the Power Play multiplies prizes by a fixed amount, it cannot be calculated on a pari-mutuel basis, so it is not offered to players in California.
To win a prize, you must match as many of your chosen numbers as possible with those drawn in the lottery. The more numbers you match, the greater your prize. You can win for matching just the Powerball, while the jackpot is won by matching all five main numbers plus the Powerball. The table below shows what prizes you can win and how many numbers you need to match.
| Match | Prize |
|---|---|
| 5 + Powerball | Jackpot |
| 5 | $1 million |
| 4 + Powerball | $50,000 |
| 4 | $100 |
| 3 + Powerball | $100 |
| 3 | $7 |
| 2 + Powerball | $7 |
| 1 + Powerball | $4 |
| Powerball | $4 |
The jackpot is shared equally between all players that match all six numbers in the same draw. For example, if the jackpot is worth $100 million and four players match all six numbers, they will each win $25 million before tax. All other prizes are fixed amounts. Head over to the Prizes page to find out more.
No, the Powerball numbers do not have to be in order. You can match the five main numbers on your ticket with the five main numbers drawn in any order. The Powerball, however, is not interchangeable with any of the other numbers, so the Powerball stated on your ticket must match the one drawn, and it cannot be used to match any of the other numbers.
The Powerball jackpot is calculated on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning that it changes depending on the number of tickets sold and how many winners there are.
Powerball rules dictate that 50 percent of the revenue from the sale of every Powerball ticket goes into the prize pool, and between 60 and 68 percent of that is allocated to the jackpot, depending on its value in the previous draw. The page about pari-mutuel prizes goes into more detail about this.
Yes, you can play Powerball even if you don't live in the United States. Find out more on the Buy Tickets page.
Yes, but you would need to travel to one of the participating states to buy a ticket. Any prizes you win must also be claimed in the state in which you bought your ticket, so bear this in mind before travelling long distances to play.
The claim process depends on the amount of money you win and the state in which you play. In most states you will be able to claim prizes of less than $600 from any licensed Powerball retailer. Prizes over this value will generally need to be claimed from a regional lottery office or central headquarters. Some states also allow you to claim by mail.
Depending on the state, you have between 90 days and a year from the date of the winning draw to claim a prize. See the How to Claim page for more information.
Double Play is an add-on game that can be played in select jurisdictions. It costs an extra $1 per play, and gives your numbers another chance to win prizes in a separate drawing. The jackpot is $10 million and there are eight other ways to win. See the Double Play page to find out more.
In some states you may not be able to claim a prize at all if you lose your ticket, while in others you may be asked to provide certain details about when and where you bought it to help prove that you are the rightful owner. In all cases, the first thing you should do is contact your state lottery to report the loss.
Each state lottery has rules to determine where any unclaimed prize money goes. In most cases the money will be used to fund public projects or good causes in the state. You can find more information about this on the Unclaimed Prizes page.
The minimum age to play Powerball is 18 in most states, but in Nebraska you must be at least 19 years old, and in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and Mississippi you must be 21 or older.
Larger Powerball prizes, including the jackpot, are subject to federal taxes, as well as state taxes where applicable. A federal tax of between 24 and 37 percent will be applied, and then state taxes will be taken on top of that. Some locations, such as New York City, also levy a local tax on lottery winnings, which will be taken in addition to federal and state taxes.
You will be taxed according to the rules in the state where you bought your ticket. This means that if you live somewhere that does not have a state tax, but you buy your ticket from somewhere that does, you will be liable to pay state tax on your winnings. See the Powerball Taxes page for further details.
Fifty percent (so $1) from the sale of every Powerball ticket goes into the prize pool for that draw. The remaining money is then used to cover operating costs, expenses and commissions, and to contribute to public or charitable projects. Each state determines where revenue will be allocated and which projects will benefit. You can find out more on the Distribution of Revenue page.
A lottery pool – also known as a syndicate or group play – gives you the opportunity to team up with other players to improve your chances of winning. In standard pools, every member contributes an agreed amount of money to buy Powerball tickets, and if any of the tickets bought by the group win a prize, the money is shared equally among all members.
If you’re planning on joining a lottery pool, be aware that state lotteries have very specific rules about how many people can be named as claimants in the event of any prize wins. The Powerball Lottery Pools page will tell you more.
The odds of winning a prize in Powerball are 1 in 24.87 and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.
The main number pool ranges from 1 to 69 and the Powerball pool is from 1 to 26.
The guaranteed minimum jackpot is $20 million. It was previously $40 million, but was lowered in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic when fewer tickets were sold and the minimum jackpot could not be guaranteed.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, and the size of the jackpot has no bearing on your chances of winning. The pool of numbers you have to choose from and the number of balls drawn in each game stays the same from draw to draw, so your chances of winning don’t change. The number of tickets sold also does not influence your chances of winning, as you’re not competing against other players.
The only time the odds of winning change is when the official Powerball rules are updated and the number matrix changes. This has happened several times since the lottery began, and in each case the changes were highly publicized in advance. If the pool of numbers is ever due to change again, chances are that you will hear about it.
No, the jackpot will roll over until a player is able to match all five numbers and the Powerball.
The biggest Powerball jackpot on record was worth $2.04 billion and was won by a single ticket holder from California on Monday, November 7, 2022. The jackpot had rolled for 40 straight drawings and the cash option was worth $997 million. Edwin Castro was revealed to be the winner when he came forward three months later.
The second-largest Powerball jackpot was worth $1.76 billion and was won on October 11, 2023 in California. It was claimed five months later, in March 2024, by Theodorus Struyck, who represented the group of winners. The cash option was $774.1 million. For more information on some of Powerball's largest prize winners, including a state-by-state breakdown of where each jackpot-winning ticket was purchased, visit the Winners page.
Every number has an equal chance of being drawn, regardless of previous results. For example, a number that hasn't been seen for six months and one that was drawn last week have an equal chance of appearing in the next drawing. Although there are many systems that can help you choose which numbers to play, none of them increase the chances of a particular number being drawn.
There is only one guaranteed way of winning Powerball: buy every single number combination. With nearly 300 million combinations, however, this is not realistic. The more Powerball lines you purchase, however, the better your chances. The best way to do this is by forming or joining a lottery pool with friends, family, or work colleagues, as you can spread the cost of buying tickets between you.
A single ticket costs $2 and if you would like to add the Power Play option, it costs an extra $1.
The Numbers page shows all the latest results from recent Powerball draws, while the Ticket Checker page will show you what prizes your numbers have won over the last 180 days.
You can watch the Powerball drawings on TV networks such as FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC. For a full list of networks and stations, see the Watch Drawings page.
If you win the Powerball jackpot, you have the choice of taking the money as annuity payments or as a lump sum. If you opt for the lump sum, you will receive all the money that has accumulated in the jackpot prize pool at the time of the draw, whereas if you take the annuity, that money is invested and paid out over 29 years. The value of the annuity is always higher than the lump sum, as you receive the returns from the investments as well as the initial jackpot amount. See the Cash vs Annuity page for further information.
The annuity value of a jackpot (see the question above) is always used when advertising it prior to a draw. If a jackpot winner opts to take a cash lump sum instead of the annuity payments, the value of the prize will be less than advertised.
Occasionally – but rarely – the jackpot may have to be adjusted to a lower amount than estimated if ticket sales for a particular drawing aren’t as high as was predicted. This can only be done after a draw has taken place, once final ticket sales have been calculated.
The lump sum or first annuity payment of a jackpot will usually be paid within a few days of the winning ticket being validated and after the requisite identity checks have been conducted. Winners may also have to fulfil certain media obligations before the payment is released, although this will vary between states.
You can remain anonymous if you win a prize in the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Winners in Puerto Rico can also retain their anonymity.
There are conditions in some of these states, where you are only eligible for anonymity if you win a certain amount. In Arizona, for example, anonymity is only offered if the prize exceeds $100,000.
State lotteries will never contact you directly to notify you of a prize you have won. If you receive a message or phone call telling you that you’ve won a prize, it is a scam, especially if the caller or sender of the message asks you to disclose personal information or pay a fee. The Scams page has all the information you need to help protect yourself against such fraud.
The next Powerball draw is on December 16.
The next Powerball jackpot is estimated at $55 Million.
