The Biggest Powerball Jackpots of All Time

• WHAT IS POWERBALL?
• POWERBALL RECORD JACKPOT WINNERS
• $2.04 BILLION
• $1.817 BILLION
• $1.787 BILLION
• $1.765 BILLION
• $1.586 BILLION
• HOW TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM THE UK
• HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM THE UK?
• I WON A POWERBALL PRIZE - WHAT NOW?
• BECOME THE NEXT POWERBALL WINNER

WHAT IS POWERBALL?

Powerball is an American lottery which was formed in April 1992, replacing the original Lotto America, which ran from 1988 to 1992. Powerball is available in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Draws take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10.59 Eastern Time (02.59 GMT / 03.59 BST). Powerball is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).

The current Powerball jackpot is an estimated *£116 million and can reach up into the billions! Unlike the major European lottos, Powerball has no jackpot cap and keeps rolling until the jackpot is won, which leads to such huge jackpots.

*Tier 1 winning bets on PowerBall are paid out as a 30-year annuity or discounted lump sum at Lottoland’s election, and Tiers 1 – 3 are also subject to a 38% reduction as per T&C's. Forbes has written an article which explains how a billion-dollar win would be taxed.

POWERBALL RECORD JACKPOT WINNERS

Only 11 states in the US allow lottery winners to remain anonymous: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas.

As most states require the winner to reveal their identity, we can learn a bit about their stories, which can sometimes be quite interesting. Here are the biggest Powerball jackpot winners.

Top 5 Powerball Jackpots
jackpot	date	winning location
$2.04 Billion	7 November 2022	California
$1.817 Billion	24 December 2025	Arkansas
$1.787 Billion	6 September 2025	Missouri and Texas (Two Winners)
$1.765 Billion	11 October 2023	California
$1.586 Billion	13 January 2016	California, Florida & Tennessee (Three Winners)

#1) $2.04 billion - Nov. 7, 2022 - Anonymous - California 

On the 7th of November 2022, a single-ticket winner made history, hitting the $2.04 billion jackpot all by themselves. This jackpot is now the largest lottery jackpot in the world!

The winner is Edwin Castro; however, not much further information about him has been revealed, as he has declined to speak with reporters. However, he wrote an official statement saying he was "shocked and ecstatic" to have won and that he was glad the public schools in California benefit from the lottery, after explaining that he was "educated in the California public education system".

We also know that he bought the winning ticket at Joe's Service Centre, a petrol station in California. The owner of this lucky petrol station has been rewarded with $1 million by Powerball for selling the single-winning ticket. 

The winning numbers were 10, 33, 41, 47, and 56 with 10 as the Powerball. 

#2) $1.817 billion - 24 December 2025 - Arkansas

Somewhere in Arkansas, one lucky individual was celebrating big as a single Powerball ticket matched all six numbers in Wednesday’s draw, winning a staggering $1.817 billion jackpot—the second-largest in U.S. history and the biggest Powerball prize this year. The winning numbers were 4, 25, 31, 52, 59, with Powerball 19 and a 2x Power Play.

The lucky winner can choose between the full $1.817 billion annuity, paid over 30 years with increasing annual payments, or a lump sum of $834.9 million, both before taxes. This is Arkansas’s second Powerball jackpot win, following a 2010 victory, and marks a truly life-changing moment for one fortunate player.

#3) $1.787 billion – 6 September 2025 - Missouri & Texas

Two lucky players in Missouri and Texas shared a colossal $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot after matching all six numbers in the September 6th draw. The winning combination was 11, 23, 44, 61, 62, and Powerball 17, with a 2x Power Play. This enormous prize is now the third-largest in U.S. lottery history, just behind the $2.04 billion jackpot in 2022 and the more recent $1.817 billion win in December 2025. Winners could choose between an annuity option of $893.5 million, paid over 30 years with annual increases, or a lump sum of $410.3 million, both before taxes. 

#4) $1.765 billion – Oct. 11, 2023 - California

In California, a sole ticket perfectly matched all six numbers drawn on the 11th of October, 2023, securing the staggering $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot. The cash equivalent of this remarkable win stands at $774.1 million. The winning combination comprised the following numbers:  22, 24, 40, 52, 64, and the red Powerball 10.

#5) $1.586 billion – Jan. 13, 2016 - Florida, Tennessee and California

The massive win took place on January 13, 2016, with the Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion. The lucky numbers were 4, 8, 18, 27 and 34 with the Powerball 10. The prize money was split among three tickets, each won in a different state. The three winning couples opted for the lump sum of $328 million.

David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith - Florida

Originally from Long Island, New York, but residing in Melbourne Beach, Florida, David lost 10 lbs from stress before the couple even collected their prize. David purchased an SUV and Maureen a gold Tesla, but the couple decided to remain in their $300,000 home located in a prime real estate location by the sea, which included a dock for David’s 15-foot fishing boat. As the couple were already relatively well-off and enjoying their life in Florida, not a great deal changed in terms of their lifestyle, with neighbours claiming, ‘they were nice, humble people before and they are exactly the same now’.

John and Lisa Robinson – Tennessee

The Robinsons initially claimed they would be staying in the modest home in Munford. John stated, “We’re just like y’all. These big fancy houses are nice, but you gotta clean ‘em”. However, six months later, the Robinson family was living in a $6.2 million, 10-bedroom mansion on 320 acres (129 hectares) of land, including a private lake.

You can’t really blame them after winning $328 million; they would still have had plenty left over to live out the rest of their days. They were living a modest, small-town, middle-class life prior to their win, unlike David and Maureen, who were already living it up in Florida.

Marvin and Mae Acosta – California

This couple from Chino Hills was in no rush to go on a spending spree as they took 6 months to claim their prize, reportedly ‘laying low on purpose’. According to California Lottery Director Hugo Lopez, the couple had read their ‘Winner’s Handbook’ and assembled a team of legal and financial advisors.

This was later confirmed by the couple who said that they would commit ‘nearly all of this new resource to a Trust and to charities that are important (to them)’. This win was also great news for Balbir Atwal, owner of the 7-Eleven that sold the ticket, who received a $1 million bonus for selling it.

HOW TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM THE UK

You can only buy tickets for Powerball in the United States, but fortunately, you don’t need to cross the Atlantic, as you can bet on Powerball from the UK with Lottoland. Just create an account, pick your numbers and wish for the best. All from the comfort of your own home!

To win the jackpot, you need to match 5 numbers from 1 to 69 plus a Powerball from 1 to 26. The odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 292,201,338.

PowerPlay is an additional feature that lets you win more money on lower-tier prizes. If you win a prize on tier 2 with the PowerPlay option, your winnings are doubled! Any other non-jackpot prizes will be doubled either x2, x3 or x5, depending on the PowerPlay ball that is drawn. If the jackpot is below $150 million, an additional x10 PowerPlay ball is added. 

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM THE UK?

A single bet costs £3, but for jackpots over $500 million, Lottoland may increase the price to £6 per line.

The reason for this is the increase in Lottoland’s insurance costs for mega jackpots.

I WON A POWERBALL PRIZE – WHAT NOW?

All of our UK customers are automatically verified. For large sums such as Powerball jackpots, an additional document scan may potentially be requested to ensure the money goes to the right person. For smaller prizes, they will be automatically credited, and your money will arrive in your bank account within a few business days. Of course, if you're lucky enough to hit the Powerball jackpot, we'll contact you by phone to share the good news!

Lottoland guarantees payouts of all winnings through its unique insurance model, including the highest Powerball jackpots. However, Lottoland replicates the payout structure of the official draws in the US, and for this reason, the total prize is reduced by 38% to account for the tax the official winners in tiers 1 to 3 would have to pay. Payment can be received as instalments over 30 years or as a lump sum at 60% of the annuity amount.

BECOME THE NEXT POWERBALL WINNER

Now that you're a professional on how to bet on the PowerBall from the UK, why not bet with Lottoland? Simply sit back and relax, and bet on one of the biggest American lotteries from the comfort of your house in the UK with a touch of a button on your mobile/laptop! 

So, good luck and who knows, we may be including you in the next list of top Powerball winners... 

Last updated: 12th January 2026