The expansion, first announced in April through an agreement between the Multi-State Lottery Association in the U.S. and Allwyn UK, will mark the first time a lottery outside the U.S. contributes to the Powerball jackpot. The expansion will allow U.K. players to play for much larger jackpots than are now available at lotteries in the country and Europe.
Wednesday night's drawing will be the first Powerball drawing open to players in the U.K.
The largest Powerball payout was just over $2 billion (about 1.5 billion pounds) from a ticket bought in 2022 in California. EuroMillions, a lottery offered across nine European countries and also operated in the U.K. by Allwyn, awarded the maximum 250 million euros (about $285 million) to players from France, Ireland and Austria over the course of 2025.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are a minuscule 1 in 292.2 million. Those odds will be the same for U.S. and U.K. players, lottery officials say.
U.S. lottery officials say the expanded player base will allow Powerball jackpots to grow more quickly, likely increasing sales as more people are drawn to larger grand prizes.
Powerball tickets cost $2.
Tickets purchased in the U.K. will only go toward the Powerball jackpot - not lower-tier prizes. Players in the U.K. will have a different lower-tier prize structure.
The estimated jackpot amounts in each country will differ due to currency conversion rates and because the U.S. advertises prize amounts pretax, unlike in the U.K.
U.K. Powerball jackpots will also be paid over 30 years, whereas in the U.S. jackpot winners have a choice between taking their winnings spread over years through an annuity or in cash - nearly all winners opt for cash.
Powerball is played in 45 U.S. states, and Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In the game, players choose five white-ball numbers from 1 to 69 and one red Powerball number from 1 to 26. Drawings will continue to be held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.