Powerball Game Information
(Click to play)
Powerball is the original and most widely known multi-state lottery game in the United States. With millions of people playing in a staggerng 30 different jurisdictions, jackpots can roll to life-changing levels at an incredible rate.
Players pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers: five different numbers from 1 to 55, and one number from 1 to 42. You win the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers. Other prizes range from $3 to $200,000.
The Powerball jackpot starts at a minimum of $15 million, and continues to climb every drawing that nobody matches all six numbers.
Powerball jackpots are paid either over 26 years or a single lump sum payment of about half the advertised jackpot. The choice is yours. If you chose an annual payout, the California Lottery pays you according to an annually-increasing rate schedule (see below).
(We purchase your tickets with the cash option pre-selected, but you may change your mind to annuity if you wish when claiming your jackpot.)
Anyone who is 18 or older can play Powerball, even if you are not a USA citizen.
Ways to win
There are nine different ways to win eight different prize amounts.
| Match |
Prize |
Odds |
Your Odds†
at Betslips.com |
| 5 Numbers + Powerball |
Jackpot |
1 in 146,107,962 |
1 in 29,221,592 |
| 5 Numbers |
$200,000 |
1 in 3,563,609 |
1 in 712,722 |
| 4 Numbers + Powerball |
$10,000 |
1 in 584,432 |
1 in 116,886 |
| 4 Numbers |
$100 |
1 in 14,254 |
1 in 2,851 |
| 3 Numbers + Powerball |
$100 |
1 in 11,927 |
1 in 2,385 |
| 3 Numbers |
$7 |
1 in 291 |
1 in 58.2 |
| 2 Numbers + Powerball |
$7 |
1 in 745 |
1 in 149 |
| 1 Number + Powerball |
$4 |
1 in 127 |
1 in 25.4 |
| Just Powerball |
$3 |
1 in 69.0 |
1 in 13.8 |
| Overall odds of winning any prize: |
1 in 36.61 |
1 in 7.32 |
† Your Odds based upon minimum play of 5 tickets at Betslips.com. Odds of winning become greater as you play additional tickets.
Annuity payout schedule
A jackpot prize winner who chooses the annuity option (annual payments) will receive payments that increase every year. The following table shows the rate of yearly increase for annuity payments for an example jackpot of $96 million. The actual payments will be different, based on the size of the jackpot won, but the rate of increase from year-to-year will be the same as shown below.
Payment
Number |
Payment Schedule
As % Of Jackpot |
Annual Payment
Before Taxes
($96 Million Jackpot) |
| 1 |
1.8 |
$1,728,413 |
| 2 |
1.9 |
$1,780,000 |
| 3 |
1.9 |
$1,851,000 |
| 4 |
2.0 |
$1,925,000 |
| 5 |
2.1 |
$2,002,000 |
| 6 |
2.2 |
$2,082,000 |
| 7 |
2.3 |
$2,166,000 |
| 8 |
2.3 |
$2,252,000 |
| 9 |
2.4 |
$2,342,000 |
| 10 |
2.5 |
$2,436,000 |
| 11 |
2.6 |
$2,534,000 |
| 12 |
2.7 |
$2,635,000 |
| 13 |
2.9 |
$2,740,000 |
| 14 |
3.0 |
$2,850,000 |
| 15 |
3.1 |
$2,964,000 |
| 16 |
3.2 |
$3,083,000 |
| 17 |
3.3 |
$3,206,000 |
| 18 |
3.5 |
$3,334,000 |
| 19 |
3.6 |
$3,468,000 |
| 20 |
3.8 |
$3,606,000 |
| 21 |
3.9 |
$3,751,000 |
| 22 |
4.1 |
$3,901,000 |
| 23 |
4.2 |
$4,057,000 |
| 24 |
4.4 |
$4,219,000 |
| 25 |
4.6 |
$4,388,000 |
| 26 |
4.8 |
$4,563,000 |
| 27 |
4.9 |
$4,746,000 |
| 28 |
5.1 |
$4,936,000 |
| 29 |
5.3 |
$5,133,000 |
| 30 |
5.6 |
$5,339,000 |
| Total |
100.0% |
$96,017,413 |
Drawings
Powerball drawings are held Wednesday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time (11:00 p.m. Eastern Time). If no one wins the jackpot, the money is added to the jackpot for the next drawing. The jackpot continues to grow until someone matches all six numbers drawn.
Powerball is played in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Play Powerball
Our service is available online until 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) the day of the drawing. That gives our ticket couriers sufficient time to purchase your tickets prior to the drawing.