Same Numbers, Very Different Prizes: Why a Match 4 Paid $100 in the US and £1,840 in the UK
On Wednesday night, the same six Powerball numbers were drawn for players in the US and the UK. A US ticket that matched four white balls won $100. In the UK, the same match paid £1,840.10, about $2,470.
Since July, Powerball has also been sold in the UK, where players enter the same drawing and chase the same jackpot. Wednesday’s winning numbers were 8, 42, 45, 51 and 57, with Powerball 17. In the UK, the drawing is listed as Thursday, November 12, because it takes place there at 3:59 a.m.
The jackpot is shared. Below it, the two countries pay very different prizes.
Wednesday’s Drawing, Side by Side
Here’s what each prize tier paid on November 11. US prizes are shown without Power Play.
| Prize tier | US winners | US prize | UK winners | UK prize | UK prize in dollars* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 5 + Powerball | 0 | Jackpot | 0 | Jackpot | — |
| Match 5 | 0 | $1,000,000 | 0 | £1,000,000 | about $1,340,000 |
| Match 4 + Powerball | 2 | $50,000 | 0 | — | — |
| Match 4 | 152 | $100 | 5 | £1,840.10 | about $2,470 |
| Match 3 + Powerball | 391 | $100 | 14 | £744.80 | about $1,000 |
| Match 3 | 9,603 | $7 | 356 | £76.30 | about $102 |
| Match 2 + Powerball | 8,223 | $7 | 326 | £40.70 | about $55 |
| Match 1 + Powerball | 66,477 | $4 | 2,774 | £18.10 | about $24 |
| Powerball only | 166,596 | $4 | 7,437 | £12.60 | about $17 |
| Match 2 | No prize | — | 8,174 | £8 | about $11 |
*Converted at about $1.34 per pound, the exchange rate on November 11. US players who added Power Play, which was 3X on Wednesday, won three times the amounts shown: $300 for Match 4, for example.
Why the UK Prizes Were So Much Bigger
- Separate prize pools. The jackpot is shared, but the lower prizes aren’t. UK prizes are paid only from UK ticket sales and split only among UK winners.
- Prizes that move. In the US, every prize below the jackpot is fixed, except in California, where they’re pari-mutuel. In the UK, only Match 5 (£1 million) and Match 2 (£8) are fixed; every other prize depends on how many UK tickets match.
- A pricier ticket. A UK line costs £4, about $5.35, compared with $2 in the US.
- Few winners to share with. On Wednesday, only five UK tickets matched four white balls, so each one took a big slice of that tier’s pool.
It Doesn’t Always Work Out That Way
Before you wish you’d bought your ticket in London, a few things to keep in mind:
- The second prize is usually bigger in the US. Match 4 + Powerball pays a fixed $50,000 in the US, or more with Power Play. In the UK drawings we checked since August, it paid between £11,769.40 and £39,091.70, roughly $15,800 to $52,400.
- UK prizes swing a lot. In those same drawings, a UK Match 4 paid as little as £623.20 (September 24) and as much as £1,840.10 (this week).
- The jackpot is paid differently. UK jackpot winners get 30 yearly payments with no cash option, while US winners can choose the lump sum.
- The odds don’t change. Whether you play in Ohio or Oxford, your chance of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 292,201,338.
- You can’t just buy a UK ticket. UK Powerball is sold only by the UK’s National Lottery.
Powerball should always be played for fun: set a budget and only spend what you can afford. If gambling stops being fun, free, confidential help is available 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER.