Powerball Lottery

Powerball functions as one of two major national lotteries in the US. Tickets for Powerball can be purchased in 45 states, as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Some of these states allow online purchases of Powerball tickets, either through state-regulated online lottery platforms, or the Jackpocket app.

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What Is The Powerball Lottery?

The Powerball Lottery offers the chance to win grand prizes that sometimes go over a billion dollars. Most US residents can purchase Powerball tickets in their respective states.

Powerball plays as a multi-state lottery. All Powerball tickets offer entry to the same lottery drawing, no matter where the ticket is purchased.

The bi-weekly drawings for Powerball take place on Wednesday and Saturday of each week. Players are tasked with picking five numbers correctly out of a 69 white balls, as well as the Powerball number from a separate drum of 26 balls.

Picking all six numbers correctly awards the Powerball jackpot, and that prize can sometimes reach into nine-figure territory or higher. The possibility of winning life-changing scores of money makes Powerball one of the most popular legal gambling games in the US.

A January 2016 Powerball drawing yielded a $1.586 billion jackpot, the largest lottery payout ever recorded.

How To Buy Powerball Tickets Online

Powerball tickets can be purchased online in several states and Washington DC. Some states allow Powerball purchases through legal online lottery sites, while others offer Powerball on the Jackpocket mobile app.

*online Powerball purchases only available on the Jackpocket mobile app

In states with regulated online lottery platforms, you can find the official lottery site via Google search. In Pennsylvania, for instance, a search for “Pennsylvania online lottery” brings up several different links to the Pennsylvania iLottery.

Pennsylvania players can find Powerball by first clicking on the “Games” tab at the top of the main lobby, then clicking on “Draw Games.” Powerball comes up as one of the online draw games options.

Deposit Options

To purchase a Powerball ticket through the Pennsylvania iLottery, you must first make a deposit. The bottom of the lobby shows all of the different deposit options, including PayPal, ACH/eCheck, credit/debit cards, Play+ Prepaid, and others.

Choosing Numbers And Purchasing Tickets

Once you’ve deposited, you can purchase online entries to Powerball. Clicking on Powerball from the “Draw Games” menu brings up a page where you can purchase up to five tickets at a time.

This menu offers the option to pick your own numbers or use the randomized “Quick Pick” option. You can also set up recurring purchases for up to 26 consecutive drawings.

Learn more about How To Purchase Lottery Tickets Online, including options for Michigan and Pennsylvania. 

Using A Lottery Number Generator To Pick Your Powerball Numbers

A lottery number generator produces randomized results that can be used to enter the Powerball drawings. The lottery number generator here on Bonus.com offers one-click access to random numbers tailored for Powerball, Mega Millions, Super Lotto Plus, Pick 3, and Pick 4.

The Bonus.com Powerball Lottery Generator goes more in-depth with a plethora of options specifically aimed at the Powerball drawing. Choose up to six lines at once, with the option to mix your own chosen numbers with randomly selected numbers on the same line.

Our Powerball Lottery Generator also features the “Hottest” and “Coldest” numbers from the Powerball drawing, which can be filtered for the past month or year, or the entire history of the game.

Powerball Drawing Days

The Powerball lottery drawing takes place twice per week, on Wednesday and Saturday. The drawing takes place at 10:59 Eastern Time on both days, from the secure Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee, FL.

The bi-weekly drawings give players 104 opportunities per year to hit the Powerball jackpot. Each week’s winning numbers can be found on the Powerball website.

The winning numbers from each of the last 10 drawings can also be found on the Bonus.com Powerball Lottery page, which updates after every draw.

How To Claim Powerball Winnings

Online purchases of Powerball tickets make it easy to claim your winnings. All winning tickets purchased through state-regulated lottery sites automatically place the winnings in your online balance.

If you purchased a winning ticket through Jackpocket, the app will apply wins of $600 or less directly into your Jackpocket account. For wins of more than $600, Jackpocket arranges the physical delivery of your winning ticket through a secure courier.

Wins of more than $600 on Jackpocket, as well as all other physical Powerball winning tickets over $600, must be redeemed at a Powerball local claim center. Wins for $600 or less can be cashed in at any authorized lottery retailer.

Do I Have To Pay Taxes On Powerball Winnings?

Powerball wins of more than $5,000 automatically have federal taxes withheld. Most states also withhold state taxes from payouts of more than $5,000, but depending on the size of the win you might still be responsible to pay additional taxes beyond what’s withheld.

Lottery winnings are legally taxed as income on the federal level. Different states have different laws in place regarding state taxes on lottery winnings.

California, for example, doesn’t tax lottery earnings. Arizona and Maryland, on the other hand, use different tax rates for residents versus non-residents when it comes to lottery winnings.

Lottery winners in any state are responsible for paying the appropriate state and federal taxes.

The History Of Powerball In The US

The game now known as Powerball started as Lotto America in 1988. The original Lotto America offered purchases in 15 states and Washington DC.

Lotto America changed names in 1992, re-christening the game as Powerball. The first drawing under the Powerball name took place in April 1992.

By 2010, Powerball and Mega Millions stood as the two biggest multi-state lotteries in the US. The two lotteries agreed to allow states to offer both games, and as of 2020 Powerball’s jurisdiction includes 45 US states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

In 2011, the US Department of Justice issued an opinion on the Federal Wire Act that opened the door for states to offer online lottery purchases. Illinois became the first state to do so in 2012.

As of 2020, Powerball tickets can be purchased online in at least 15 states. Some of these states offer regulated online lottery platforms, while others allow online lottery purchases through the Jackpocket mobile app.

What Are The Biggest Powerball Wins Of All Time?

$1.586 million (Jan. 13, 2016) – The largest Powerball jackpot in history also stands as the biggest lottery payout ever recorded in any jurisdiction. A trio of winners each claimed one-third of a total jackpot worth $1.586 million, with the winning tickets purchased in California, Florida, and Tennessee.

$768.4 million (Mar. 27, 2019) – A single winner from New Berlin, WI, cashed in for $768.4 million by hitting the Powerball jackpot in March 2019. This jackpot stands as the third-largest lottery prize ever awarded.

$758.7 million (Aug. 23, 2017) – A Massachusetts winning ticket awarded a $758.7 million to the winner. This single winner took home $480.5 million in cash value.

Is It Safe To Buy Powerball Tickets Online?

Official state lotteries function as government-operated games, intending to produce revenue for the state budget and other local interests.

A consortium known as the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) operates the Powerball lottery. While the MUSL doesn’t function as an official program of the federal government, it does operate as a joint effort among 34 different state lotteries.

As such, the states making up the MUSL operate with a keen interest in fair games. The bi-weekly drawings feature numbers randomly selected from two drums, with the television broadcast of the drawing available nationally.

Using a random number generator, like the one featured here on Bonus.com, offers one of the most secure, unbiased ways to pick numbers for the Powerball drawing. Using our lottery number generator won’t guarantee a win, but it will guarantee completely random selections for use in the Powerball drawing.

Powerball Lottery FAQs