Powerball: $36 Billion Generated for Good Causes Over 33 Years
- Insights Press
- 21 minutes ago
- 2 min read
JOHNSTON, IOWA (April 22, 2025) – Happy 33rd birthday, Powerball! Today marks 33 years since the first Powerball drawing was held on April 22, 1992.
Over the years, Powerball has grown with additional lotteries, more players and record jackpots – but its underlining mission of helping U.S. lotteries raise funds for good causes has remained constant. More than half of all proceeds from a $2 Powerball ticket remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold; a portion of which goes to fund public programs and services. To date, an estimated $36 billion has been generated from Powerball ticket sales nationwide for good causes.
“Powerball’s impact can be found everywhere the game is sold,” said Matt Strawn, Iowa Lottery CEO and Powerball Product Group Chair. “Powerball proceeds are improving the communities where our players live and work – whether its support for veterans in Iowa, college scholarships in Tennessee, new trails and parks in Colorado, or low-cost prescription assistance for seniors in Pennsylvania.”
Other birthday highlights include:
414 jackpot-winning tickets
$31.7 billion jackpot prizes awarded
2.08 billion lower tier winning tickets
$26.7 billion lower tier prizes awarded
The first Powerball drawing in 1992 had 15 participating lotteries: Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Idaho, Hoosier (Indiana), Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Today, all 48 U.S. lotteries offer the game.
Powerball became the first national draw game to reach a $1 billion jackpot on Jan. 13, 2016, when three tickets split a $1.586 billion jackpot. The game holds the current world record for largest national lottery jackpot at $2.04 billion, which was won by a single ticket in California on Nov. 7, 2022.
For the next drawing tomorrow night, the Powerball jackpot is an estimated $151 million. The jackpot has an estimated cash value of $69.3 million.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play. Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Powerball drawings are also livestreamed on Powerball.com. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9.
For more information about Powerball, click here.
Media Contact:
Anna Domoto
Multi-State Lottery Association