Powerball Expanding Into United Kingdom in Effort To Boost Jackpots

America’s Powerball lottery is going international, promising faster growing jackpots.The Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association says it will begin selling tickets July 21 in the United Kingdom with a drawing the next day. It is the first time tickets for the U.S. lottery will be sold outside America. More than 31 million people play the lottery in the United Kingdom at least once a year.Powerball officials said that a big reason for the expansion into a new market is based on feedback from American players who have consistently said faster growing jackpots is a top desire for the game.Tickets will remain $2 domestically but will cost the equivalent of roughly $5 in the United Kingdom. Players in both countries will vie for the same jackpot and the odds of winning the top prize remains 1 in 292.2 million. If someone in the United Kingdom wins, they will receive their payout in pounds over a 30-year period. Americans can choose annual payments or a lower cash prize in a single payment.Unlike American lottery players who face large tax bills on jackpot wins, lottery winnings in the United Kingdom are completely tax-free. That means if an American player and a British player were to share the winning numbers on a jackpot, the American player would end up with much less money.The British players will likely see jackpots much larger than they traditionally played. While American jackpots have reached into the billions, EuroMillions, a lottery offered across nine European countries, paid the $265 million as its biggest prize to a United Kingdom player. Another intercountry lottery called Eurojackpot operates across 19 other countries and the top prize is capped at 120-million euros — equivalent to about $137 million.Allwyn UK will operate the U.K. Powerball lottery. “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,” the company’s chief executive, Andria Vidler, said in a release.The steep ticket price, which is twice the price of the current lottery in the United Kingdom, has caused some grumbling. The Powerball winning odds are also considerably smaller than current European lotteries.Powerball’s American rival, Mega Millions, has not announced any effort to expand its multi-state lottery overseas.

Powerball Expanding Into United Kingdom in Effort To Boost Jackpots

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