'I've worked with lottery winners for years - but this new £1BILLION jackpot is something different'

Britons have been told of a "massive opportunity" ahead of the launch of new lottery with prizes worth up to a whopping £1billion.

The National Lottery’s Powerball will see UK players pay £4 per line to compete with their US counterparts to win shared jackpots that can balloon into the billions, which will be paid out over 30 years.

Operator Allwyn said tickets went on sale yesterday – and the current estimated jackpot stands at $416million (£311million).

Senior winners' advisor at Allwyn, Andy Carter, who provides support to winner who scooped £50,000 or more, told GB News how Powerball was a "massive opportunity" for players in the UK to take part in the game.

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He told The People's Channel: "Powerball is the biggest lottery in the world. If you like, the UK is joining it as the 49th state.

"The jackpot has no limit. There’s no cap to how it can grow... Theoretically, someone could win £1billion in this country.

"Since 2021, the jackpot has rolled over to $1billion on six occasions. On one of those occasions, it rolled over to more than $2billion.

"This is generational wealth. If you win £300million on this week's Powerball draw, that is not just you, or your children, or your grandchildren; that's generations to come."

She said the first UK Powerball ticket sold in a shop was at Sewell On The Go in Pocklington, York, just after 5am on Tuesday.

The first online ticket was bought on the National Lottery app by a player in Brighton at 5.54am.

Players have until 11.55pm on Wednesday to buy a ticket for the draw at around 4am BST on Thursday.

Draws will take place three times a week from the Powerball studio in Florida.

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To play, hopefuls will need to pick five numbers from 1 to 69 plus one Powerball number from 1 to 26.

According to Allwyn, the overall odds of winning any prize on Powerball in the UK are one in 14, while the odds of winning the jackpot prize, by matching all five numbers and the Powerball, are around one in 292 million.

Matching five numbers will win a fixed prize of £1million, while four numbers and the Powerball will scoop the ticketholder £33,000.

Mr Carter was quick to stress the National Lottery was committed to supporting good causes across the UK with the funds from Powerball, adding: "This game is expected to add £10million to National Lottery funding for good causes over the next five years."

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

Mr Carter added: "It’s really exciting. I've done this job with the National Lottery for a long time, I've met a lot of winners, and this is something different.

"It would be great to meet the first billionaire from Powerball. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long before someone in the UK wins it.

"When somebody in the UK wins this money, there’s a whole lot of care and support. National Lottery players have access to legal advice, financial advice, wellbeing support and connection with other winners. There’s a whole army of experts on hand to help out."

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