For some reason, people are protesting Powerball’s expansion into the United Kingdom, even though it won’t affect them at all.
The Powerball lottery drawing on Wednesday night was the first time participants from outside the United States were able to play.
Lottery officials have expressed excitement about the expansion, noting that a larger player base may lead to quicker prize increases, as the potential for bigger payouts rises with more players buying tickets.
Although more players are now eligible to win, the chances of winning remain the same. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are still one in 292 million. So it’s still less than the chance of being struck by lightning.
Despite all of the positives that lottery officials have expressed about the move, many lottery players now say they will no longer play Powerball because of the United Kingdom expansion.
“Completely done with that. Talk about a bad decision,” one person wrote on X in response to the news.
“Americans should boycott the U.S. Powerball,” read another comment.
“Stop playing Powerball altogether. This is ridiculous,” someone else wrote.
“Time to stop playing,” another person complained. “We can’t take the money out of this Powerball, but we can make darn sure there is zero American money in the next one.”
The Powerball expanding to the United Kingdom has almost zero bearing on American lottery players
According to Powerball, “The odds of winning are unchanged because the two fields of numbers from which the winning numbers are drawn are not changing. The addition of U.K. players increases the jackpot size, not the odds or drawing mechanics.”
Also, should anyone in the United Kingdom win, the way they will receive their prize winnings is completely different from how it works in the United States. It also costs significantly more for someone in the U.K. to play.
In the United States, tickets are still $2 per line; if you choose the Power Play multiplier option, they are $3 per line. Each line or play costs four pounds for players from the United Kingdom. That equates to roughly 4.69 euros per line, or $5.34 per line per draw.
Also, U.K. winners will receive payouts only annually for 30 years, in contrast to American players, who can choose between a lump-sum payment and annual payments spread out over 30 years. The U.K. National Lottery will oversee their payout system.
Additionally, in the U.K., lottery officials list the prize in pounds sterling after taxes, whereas in the U.S., they list the jackpots before taxes. Should there be multiple winners in a single drawing, they will still split the jackpot prizes equally, regardless of where they are located.