Biggest Record Jackpot: $1.6 Billion
Country: USA
Jackpot Odds: 1 in 293 million
Second Prize: $1,000,000
On the 7th of October 2015 the world of Powerball has changed in a significant manner, with a new set of rules seeing the light of day and delivering some amazing, extraordinary experiences to say the least. As you know, this is one of the biggest lotteries in the world, so seeing some changes to the original formula and sprucing up the game is a great idea!
The cause behind this ruleset change might be a drop in sales or the fact that the rules haven’t been changed in quite some time, and that lead to a little player fatigue, something that can definitely be solved with some help from the Powerball officials.
What changes were made to the Powerball rules?
There were quite a lot of changes, and all of these have a great impact on the game. First, the amount of numbers that can be played was increased by 10, so you can now play 69 numbers, something that adds plenty of new possibilities to the table.
However, the supplementary Powerball numbers were decreased to 26 instead of the former 35 which made the game a lot harder.
The jackpot odds were around 175223510:1 and now they are 292201338:1, something that lead to much better chances of actually winning a prize, these being 25:1 instead of the former 32:1. The officials made this decision mostly for offering people the opportunity to earn more prizes and even though the jackpot is still hard to get, having the ability to earn even a small prize is a great idea for sure.
They also increases the tier three prize value 5 times, from the normal $10000 to $50000, offering players a much better way to play and definitely a ton of more motivation. Even the odds of winning the lowest tier prize are increased, so you can expect more and more people to play the game because of that.
How does this affect the Powerball experience?
There’s no denying that Powerball has always been popular, but these changes are definitely going to bring new players to the table. Sure, it will be even harder to hit the jackpot, but the fact that you can earn smaller tier prizes a lot easier and you also have better chances of winning all around is astonishing.
It’s also interesting to see that more and more record breaking jackpots will appear, and the ticket sales will increase. It’s great because the game will live on and at the same time we will all have a greater chance to win. Maybe the best thing here though is that the bigger jackpots will appear more often, all while regular persons will have the ability to reach even the lower tier prizes often as well. All of these changes combined bring in a lot of diversity and uniqueness to Powerball. This lottery definitely needed a change and these modifications of the rule sets are simply stunning, so it does come down to the players to keep playing and enjoy the bigger winning chances as well as the great jackpots!
Buy Powerball Lottery Tickets Online
The Powerball Lottery is the favorite lottery in the United States of America. It is a combination of cash and a jackpot. This lottery is played in 44 states as well as Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Because the top prize is always at least $40 million, it is the most desired lottery in the whole world.
The jackpot gives the winner the option of taking out the entire money in a lump sum amount or having it paid out annually over 29 years (for a total of 30 payments). If the winner chooses the annual payment option, his payment would be higher each year depending on the percentage decided by the Powerball rules of that year.
Each ticket costs $2. The cut-off time for entering a draw is 59 minutes before the winning numbers are drawn. There is the convenience now to buy Powerball lottery tickets online too. The draw happens every Wednesday and Saturday, when five white balls are randomly drawn out of 59 white balls and one red ball is randomly drawn out of 35 red balls.
The odds of winning a smaller prize are 1 in 32. To win the jackpot, the numbers you have drawn have to match the numbers on the five white balls and the one red ball, which can be in any order. The second prize of $1000, 000, is won by matching the numbers on the five white balls, which also can be in any order.
You can buy the Powerball lottery tickets online in the convenience of your home or even if you are on the move. When you choose your numbers on a legitimate website, their agent who is located in the United States will go and buy a real-time ticket for you (in paper). This physical ticket is then scanned and emailed to you as a copy. The original paper ticket will be kept safe until the results are announced. If you win a prize, you can opt to have your prize money deposited in your bank account via online bank transfer. You will be notified via email about your winning numbers too. If you buy the Powerball lottery tickets online, it saves you the time and expense of going to a lottery booth or agent to buy the ticket and if you win, the hassle of going to physically claim your prize.
There are several prizes to be won in the draw, not just the jackpot. In fact, there are nine different ways in which you could win a prize, each with varying amounts. If your numbers match 4 of the white balls and the red ball, you win $10,000. If your numbers match just 4 of the white balls, you would win $100, and so on.