World’s biggest lottery game set to launch in UK this month – with £1bn jackpots – AOL

Feeling lucky? British lottery players will be able to play in the world’s largest jackpot game, Powerball, this month.

Allwyn, the National Lottery operator, has said that UK players will compete alongside their US counterparts for a shared jackpot exceeding £1 billion, paid out over three decades.

Tickets for the game will be available from 21 July, priced at £4 per line, pending final regulatory approval. Should the current Powerball jackpot, estimated at 416 million US dollars (£311 million), continue to roll until the UK launch, British players could be in contention for the huge sum in the inaugural draw on 23 July.

This marks the first time Powerball has operated outside the United States, bringing uncapped jackpots to UK players.

Prizes will start at £12 million and have the potential to escalate into hundreds of millions, or even billions. Uniquely for the UK, an additional ‘match two main numbers’ prize tier offers a fixed £8 payout. The ‘match five main numbers’ tier also guarantees a fixed £1 million prize, while other UK prize tiers will fluctuate based on the draw results and the number of winners.

Powerball follows the National Lottery making the biggest overhaul to its draw-based Lotto game since its launch in 1994, with players being given two chances to win for every £2 ticket. The change, which was rolled out from June 7, is expected to more than double the number of Lotto millionaires – from around 140 a year to about 345.

It follows the recent completion of a £450 million major tech upgrade to the lottery, which involved moving 18 million player records and more than three billion historical transactions from old platforms to new ones, and transforming the technology used by retail partners.

Latest figures from Allwyn show total National Lottery sales, including lottery tickets bought in shops, came in at £8.1 billion in 2025, up 3.5% on the previous year.

More than £1.7 billion was generated for good causes – which incorporates funding for health, education, arts, sports heritage and charitable causes – and £967 million was raised in taxes.

Allwyn chief executive Andria Vidler said: “We’re excited to give National Lottery players the chance to dream bigger while supporting thousands of good cause projects across the UK every week.

“Powerball jackpots can soar into the billions, offering breath-taking sums with the potential to transform lives and communities.

“As we begin the countdown to the first draw later this month, you won’t be able to miss Powerball’s arrival with a major launch lined up.

“We’re encouraging players to get involved when tickets go on sale and we’ll be crossing our fingers for our first UK winner.”