Facts about the Powerball

The Powerball lottery is officially the world most popular lottery and to date it is in the history books as having yielded the largest jackpot prize on the planet! This brings the question, how exactly did the Powerball begin?

Few lottery players know that the Powerball was not the first multi state lottery game in the US. Lotto America was the first multi state lottery and a predecessor of the Powerball lottery. Lottery officials in the US felt that Lotto America did not quite appeal to the American lottery players. A series of changes occurred on the Lotto America format and this eventually lead to the Powerball lottery.

The Powerball is not played in all the states of the United States. Only 44 states in the United States are eligible to play the Powerball lottery. The Powerball being a multi state lottery is under the Multi- State lottery association.

The Powerball lottery traditionally had a 20 million dollar starting jackpot. After the new lottery format, the Powerball starting jackpot has however been significantly increased and is now at a staggering 40 million dollars. The Powerball ticket goes for $1 and players have the option of playing the Powerball multiplier by spending an extra dollar.

Playing for the multiplier is smart as players who are non-jackpot winners can multiply their winnings by up to five times. The two-drum system that the Powerball lottery follows makes the Powerball the favorite with the lottery players. This is because it makes the Powerball flexible and gives it better odds of winning.

The Powerball two-drum system was adopted from the Oregon State lottery. This system contributed greatly to the popularity of the Powerball. Through this, several world lotteries such as the Euro Millions and the Thunderball has integrated the system into their lottery formats.