The Powerball is a US lottery that has quickly become one of the biggest in the world. It is played throughout the United States and has also gained popularity in Europe, but did you know that you could also play Powerball in New Zealand?
Few people realise it, but there are no rules concerning nationality on the US Powerball, or any other major lottery for that matter. If you can get a ticket then you can play, simple as that. And that is as true for players in New Zealand as it is for players everywhere else.
Of course, if you buy a physical ticket then you will need to cash it in the United States, which can be a long trip if you’re not in the country at the time of the draw. But that’s why online lottery portals are so important as they allow players from New Zealand to play quickly, easily and directly—without the need for a long and expensive flight.
How Much is a US Powerball Ticket?To play Powerball players need to choose a total of 5 main numbers between 1 and 69, and 1 bonus number (the “Powerball”) between 1 and 26. A US Powerball ticket costs €3.50, with players from New Zealand having to play lotto online through us here at Multilotto.
US players also have the option of something known as the Power Play, which costs an extra $1 per ticket. This gives them a chance to boost all lower-tier prizes that have a base prize of $50,000 or less.(only available in the US)
The Power Play is drawn separately to the main draw and consists of 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and 10x possibilities, each corresponding to how the lower-tier prize monies will be multiplied. So, if the Power Play is 10x and a player wins $10, then this would be boosted to $100.
What are the Odds of Winning the US Powerball?The US Powerball jackpot odds have changed somewhat over the years. These changes have been gradually introduced as the game has grown in popularity, ensuring that rollovers keep occurring and that the jackpot keeps growing.
In the early days, prior to 1997, the jackpot returned odds of 1 in 54 million. At this time players were asked to pick 5 main numbers from a possible 45. It then increased to 1 in 80 million, 1 in 120 million, 1 in 175 million and then, in October 2015, to 1 in 292 million.
This is where the Powerball jackpot odds have remained ever since, although it may change again in the future. The reason the odds are so high is because there are now a possible 69 main numbers to choose from, which is more than there has ever been in the past. On the flip side, there are fewer Powerball numbers than ever before, with the number moving from a possible 45 in 1992 to 26 today.
For a full list of all current Powerball odds, see below:
5 Main Numbers + Powerball (Jackpot) = 1 in 292.201.338 5 Main Numbers = 1 in 11.688.053 4 Main Numbers + Powerball = 1 in 913.129 4 Main Numbers = 1 in 36.525 3 Main Numbers + Powerball = 1 in 14.494 3 Main Numbers = 1 in 579 2 Main Numbers + Powerball = 1 in 701 1 Main Number + Powerball = 1 in 91 Powerball Only = 1 in 38 Has Anybody from New Zealand Every Won the US Powerball Jackpot?
No one from New Zealand has won the biggest prize on the US Powerball. However, every player, regardless of which country they are from, has the same chance of winning the jackpot.
It’s simply a numbers game. For every 1.000 US Powerball tickets sold, only a few will be sold to non-US players, if that. This means that US players typically keep all of the big wins to themselves and are always more likely to win the jackpot than a player from outside the country.
When you factor in the small population of New Zealand and the fact that very few citizens realise they can actually play Powerball, the odds of a New Zealand success have been very slim thus far.
But don’t let these odds get you down, because every ticket has as much chance as every other. What’s more, there have been many foreigners who have won big on the US Powerball, including a player from Iraq who scooped a prize of several million dollars and then kept his identity secret. There have also been a number of big winners from South America, where the US Powerball is quite popular, as well as many smaller winners from Europe.
Every time a New Zealand player chooses to play Powerball they are not just earning themselves a shot at one of the biggest lottery jackpots on earth. They are also aiming to become the first non-US player to win a US Powerball jackpot and to become one of the first New Zealand players to win big on any US lottery.
That’s an accolade that’s well worth chasing.
Play US Powerball Online in New Zealand!You can play US Powerball in New Zealand by signing up to Multilotto. Multilotto is an unofficial vendor who essentially act as middlemen to the organisation that controls this major US lottery.
We operate within the law and are able to provide access to global lotteries thanks to a number of partnerships, as well as official regulation by authorities such as the Curacao Gaming Authority and the Malta Gaming Authority. The biggest ones are based in Europe and work with several different regulators, including ones in the UK, but they can be found all over the world.
There are scam sites out there, but these tend to operate on the fringes of the internet and the vast majority of sites are 100% legitimate. Players should always make sure that the vendor they are dealing with is 100% regulated and licensed, but other than this there is nothing to worry about and actual cases of theft and fraud are very rare.