One of the most popular online lottery games played around the world is Powerball. Powerball is so popular that a wide number of people from around the globe try their luck to play the game and win life-changing sums of money.
In this detailed write-up, we will explain how you can purchase a Powerball ticket, how to play the game, how the draw is made, what are the odds of winning and the best online lottery websites to play the Powerball lottery.
How to Play Powerball?
The first and the most important thing you need to understand before purchasing an online Powerball lottery ticket is how to play the game.
Powerball rules are very easy to understand and involve you researching the odds while also depending on a stroke of luck. If you end up winning the Powerball lottery, your life will change forever.
Here we will give you a step-by-step guide on how to play the game of Powerball:
- Head to your desired online lottery website. You can find the best options below.
- Create an account and register yourself as a user
- Deposit money in your account using your desired payment method
- Head over to the ‘Lotteries’ section of your selected website
- Select the US Powerball game
- Choose 5 numbers between 1 to 69
- Choose 1 Powerball number between 1 to 26
- Make the payment and complete the purchase
- Wait for the draw to happen and hope you are one of the lucky winners of the US Powerball
Where to Play Powerball?
Most of the online lottery websites have the option of playing the game of Powerball due to its popularity around the globe. But some websites are better than others due to their accessibility, user-friendly nature, safety protocols and modern design.
Ofcourse, the ticket price is also an important factor to consider when choosing a site to play the Powerball lottery.
Here, we will list down three of the best online websites to play Powerball lottery in India.
LottoAgent
LottoAgent has over 15 lotteries available in India, including some of the biggest lotteries in the world. This includes the worldwide popular game of US Powerball.
LottoAgent also has lucrative discounts and online promotions available, with discounts available on purchasing first-time tickets and bonuses when you refer the site to a friend via text. LottoAgent supports various popular Indian payment methods, including UPI, credit cards and Paytm.
Powerball lottery ticket at LottoAgent currently costs INR 481. If you decide to play multiple lines in one draw, the ticket price will be reduced to around INR 450 per ticket.
The Lotter
The Lotter is one of the best online lottery sites in India, hosting many global lottery games. It also has the Powerball game available.
It is one of the most reputable and safe websites and has already paid winnings of over $100 million to its winners. You will find TheLotter easy to use, with other famous lottery draws on the site being Brazil Mega Sena and Australia Sunday Lotto.
You can also purchase lottery tickets in Indian rupees using a range of payment methods including Visa Cards, Netbanking and RuPay debit. TheLotter also has a mobile app available both on Android and iOS. The customer support via live chat is very prompt and skilled at helping out Indian users.
A ticket of Powerball with three lines currently costs INR 1242 on The Lotter and INR 2071 for a ticket with five lines. This means that the ticket price for just 1 line stands at around INR 410.
LottoLand
LottoLand gives you over 30 international lottery draws to play, with each of them having fantastic prize money if you end up winning. This includes the popular game of Powerball.
LottoLand also has a mobile app available in both English and Hindi, which is certainly a draw for Indian users. The registration process is very easy and it has all the payment methods that are popular in India, including UPI, Visa, MasterCard, Neteller and Skrill. It also has a brilliant live chat support, which is also available in Hindi, making it one of the most user-friendly sites in India.
A Powerball ticket on LottoLand will cost you INR 300 per line, making it one of the cheapest sites to purchase a Powerball ticket on.
What is Powerball?
Launched in 1988 in the United States of America, a lottery game would change the lives of a number of people around giving them a chance to become overnight millionaires. The game was originally called ‘Lotto America’ but was later renamed to ‘Powerball’ in 1992.
In 1992, the first draw was held for Powerball under its new name and was the first-ever lottery game to make the use of two drums. Using two drums opened up the possibility of high jackpot chances while also increasing the number of prize levels. In the first drum, there are 69 balls and in the other drum, there are 26 balls.
To win the ultimate jackpot in Powerball, you have to guess five correct numbers between 1 to 69 and the correct Powerball number between 1 to 26, hence the two drum systems.
Powerball gained popularity immediately and is now held in 45 states across the United States. It has produced some of the biggest winnings in global history – including the biggest jackpot ever of $2.1 billion back in 2022.
The popularity of the game was such that a provision was added to sell the tickets online, which has only led to the game becoming even more famous.
Participating Countries in Powerball
The main Powerball game that is the most famous across the globe is the US Powerball. It is widely regarded as the most popular lottery ticket in the world. With the tickets available online, a ticket of US Powerball can be purchased around the globe. It is run by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
US Powerball is played in 45 states of the United States of America. Puerto Rico, as a part of the United States territory, also participates in the US Powerball, with residents from there allowed to participate and win in the draw.
Similar to the US Powerball, there is also Australia Powerball that is also known as the Oz Powerball. Despite being a different game, it has more or less the same rules and regulations as the US Powerball. There is also a New Zealand Powerball game similar to the US and Australia Powerball games, which is run by the New Zealand Lotteries Commision.
There are no restrictions when it comes to playing online US Powerball lottery in India and you can do so by purchasing a ticket from a reputed online lottery website. In this manner, despite it being a game originating from the USA, you don’t have to travel to the US to play the game of Powerball.
Powerball Ticket Prices
If you live in the United States, a Powerball ticket will cost you around $2 at a local vendor. If you add the Powerplay option, the price rises to $3. But prices may vary when you purchase the online ticket back in India due to a variety of factors.
As online websites are not selling the ticket directly as a property that they own, they act as an agent or a middle-person in order to deliver the tickets to you. In this process, they generally charge a commission while you purchase the ticket, as this is the only source of revenue for them. This increases the price of tickets by a few dollars, but that is nothing compared to what it would cost you to fly out to the US and bear multiple costs in order to purchase a Powerball ticket from a vendor.
The prices vary from site to site as the commission structure might be different to all of them.
Here is an overview of the powerball lottery ticket price in India. All the sites mentioned below are completely legal and trustworthy.
| Lottery Site | Ticket Price |
| Lotto247 | ₹290 |
| Lottoland | ₹300 |
| Lottery World | ₹300 |
| Lottofy | ₹320 |
| Play Huge Lottos | ₹377 |
| The Lotter | ₹410 |
| Lotto Smile India | ₹413 |
| Win Trillions | ₹415 |
| Jackpot.com | ₹430 |
| Lotto Agent | ₹485 |
Powerball Jackpot
The Powerball jackpot is arguably the most lucrative jackpot available around the globe. The amount can rise to millions and even billions of dollars. Powerball jackpot prize swells depending on how many jackpot draws occur without a jackpot winner.
At the start of a Powerball draw the basic structure is as follows:
- $20 million (Grand Prize) – All the five numbers + the Powerball Number
- $1 million – All the five numbers
- $50,000 – Four numbers + the Powerball number
- $100 – Four numbers
- $100 – Three numbers + the Powerball number
- $7 – Three numbers
- $7 – Two numbers + the Powerball number
- $4 – One number + the Powerball number
- $4 – Only Powerball number
Every time a draw does not produce a winner, the jackpot and other prizes will increase. This can go without a limit, until the grand prize is finally when somebody guesses all numbers correctly.
Winners of the Powerball jackpot have had their lives changed forever. Powerball winner Edwin Castro won the biggest jackpot ever in 2022, winning a mouthwatering $2.04 billion. Jackpot winners have the chance to either be paid the full amount in two installments or as graduated annuity paid in 30 yearly installments.
Powerball Jackpot Cap
Unlike many other jackpot games globally, the US Powerball does not have a jackpot cap. The amount can swell and increase in millions and billions of dollars till all the correct jackpot numbers are guessed correctly and a winner is crowned.
Due to there being no cap limit, Powerball jackpot numbers can swell up to staggering amounts. Once all the six numbers (the five numbers in white balls + the red Powerball number) are correctly guessed, a jackpot winner is crowned and a new Powerball jackpot lottery draw starts resetting at $20 million for the grand prize.
Powerball Draw Schedule
The Powerball Draw is held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm E.T and is broadcast live from the Florida Lottery Draw Studio in Tallahassee. The Powerball results are also streamed live on the official website.
This corresponds to ever Tuesday and Thursday morning at 08:29 AM in India. So if you buy a Powerball ticket, you will already know if you have won any prize in the morning.
Winnings in Powerball
To win the Powerball jackpot grand prize, you need to guess the five numbers correctly between 1 to 69 that are drawn. In addition to that, you need to guess the correct Powerball number that is drawn between 1 to 26.
All of the numbers are drawn randomly. There is a basic prize structure for the Powerball winners, which can be found above.
As Powerball does not have a jackpot cap, the grand jackpot prize money can increase into billions of dollars till all the six correct numbers are guessed.
Winnings are also subject to the US tax law. If you win a prize above $5000, 24% of that is a mandatory upfront federal withholding going to the I.R.S.
But this isn’t the only thing. If you win the Powerball grand prize, you fall under the maximum tax bracket of the United States of America. This means that 37% of your winnings will be deducted as a part of the highest tax bracket.
While this may seem like a big chunk of money, the Powerball jackpot prize will still change your life, even after tax deduction.
Check out our lottery tax in India page for more information.
Odds of Winning Powerball
The Powerball jackpot offers you a staggering amount of money if you win the grand jackpot prize. But due to the amount of money that it swells to, the indications are that the chances of you guessing all the six numbers correctly are not very high. Winning the Powerball lottery is one of the toughest odds in the world.
Below are how the odds look for the various prize money offered by the US Powerball:
| Correctly Guessed Numbers | Odds of Winning |
| 5 Balls + Powerball (Jackpot) | 1 in 292,201,338 |
| 5 Balls (without Powerball) | 1 in 11,688,054 |
| 4 Balls + Powerball | 1 in 913,130 |
| 4 Balls (without Powerball) | 1 in 36,525 |
| 3 Balls + Powerball | 1 in 14,494 |
| 3 Balls (without Powerball) | 1 in 580. |
| 2 Balls + Powerball | 1 in 701 |
| 1 Ball + Powerball | 1 in 92 |
| Powerball only | 1 in 38 |
There are a few tips through which you can improve the odds of winning Powerball. They are as follows:
- Choose from a wide range of numbers and don’t limit your selections to a certain number of your anniversary or birth date. Explore the whole range of 1 to 69 for the white balls and 1 to 26 for the red Powerball
- Pick different numbers without following a pattern like consecutive numbers like 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. Mix up your numbers as the chances of the winning numbers being in a pattern are almost non-existent
- Do research and pick the least called out numbers in the lottery
- You can also use the quick picks options available if you are uncertain about which numbers you want to choose
