American Powerball Guide – How and Where to Play
The American Powerball lottery took the world by storm in 2016. In January 2016, the jackpot reached $1.6 billion, which caused a buying frenzy. Hundreds of millions of tickets were sold throughout the world.
Are you interested in learning how and where to play the US Powerball lottery? The jackpot starts at $40 million, but it can grow indefinitely, which has resulted in some massive jackpots being won.
There are two weekly draws – one on Wednesday and one on Saturday. Both draws are at 10:59 PM EST.
Players need to choose five numbers and one Powerball number. You can choose any number between 1 and 69 when you select your five base numbers, while the Powerball number has to be between 1 and 26.
In order to win the jackpot, you need to match all five numbers, along with the Powerball number (5+PB). The odds to win the US Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.00, but winning a smaller prize is common. The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.87. The lowest prize is $4, which can be won by matching just the Powerball number.
Apart from the jackpot payout, the biggest prize is $1,000,000 and that can be won by matching all five base numbers on your ticket. This prize can be doubled if you pay an extra $1 for the Power Play option.
When you spend an extra $1 on the Power Play, certain prizes will be multiplied. The multiplier is random and changes every draw. The multiplier can be 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X or 10X. The jackpot is never multiplied and the $1,000,000 prize is only doubled regardless of what the multiplier is for that specific draw.
However, most other prizes are multiplied at the full multiplier. The 10x multiplier is only eligible on jackpots smaller than $150 million and for prizes of $50,000 or less, but that’s the only other restriction. By spending an extra $1 on your ticket, you’ll have the chance to potentially turn a small $4 payout into a $40 payout.
Where to Play the US Powerball
The Multi-State Lottery Association is currently selling US Powerball tickets in 44 states, Washington D.C., Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Official paper tickets can be purchased wherever lottery tickets are sold.
International players can also purchase tickets from an online lottery retailer. There are a growing number of websites that sell tickets to the american powerball draws. Just be sure you use a website that has a reputable track record. Anyone outside of the United States can purchase US Powerball tickets from online ticket messenger services.
Official paper tickets cost $2 at retailers for Americans. However, the cost for international players to purchase tickets is considerably more (Often double the $2). The reason for the price discrepancy is because the ticket messenger service needs to make money for providing the service. The more draws you buy into at once, the lower the cost you’ll incur.
US Powerball History
The US Powerball lottery has been running since 1992 and is now the most popular lottery in America. Popularity has only grown recently, as we’ve seen some massive jackpots won in the past several years. Initially in 1992, the jackpot started at just $2 million and players had to choose five numbers (1-45) and one Powerball number (1-45).
The latest change to the US Powerball was in October 2015. The format was changed to the current 1/69 range and 1/26, the change was made to increase the jackpot payouts and ensure smaller wins were more common. The changes worked and we’ve seen some massive US Powerball jackpots, which has garnered the attention of lottery players everywhere.
