Powerball lottery jackpots will soon grow much bigger — and faster. Wednesday’s Powerball drawing marks the first time the U.K. will be part of the previously U.S.-exclusive lottery game.
As of writing, the estimated jackpot was worth $567 million (£423.8 million).
In an apparent effort to keep pace with other booming forms of gambling, such as online casino gambling and prediction markets, Powerball announced in April a partnership to bring the U.K. into the game. People in both the U.S. and the U.K. can compete pray for the same grand prize, which sometimes eclipses $1 billion and even $2 billion.
The absurd odds, 1 in 292.2 million, are the same for people in both countries. There are some differences in payout structure, but for all intents and purposes the same game is offered.
Bloody Bleak
One has to feel bad for Brits over this American lottery gambling invasion, which will surely worsen addiction for some people across the pond (from where we’re sitting). We’re always dismayed by stories of people playing the same numbers for decades hoping to win, with a deep anxiety of skipping a drawing and seeing their numbers roll out. Apparently some people even play Powerball and don’t bother checking to see if they won.
There should be no shame or stigma for an addiction to Powerball or any other lottery product. They are marketed and designed to be seductive and, in our view, played habitually.
In a dystopian sense, maybe this Powerball arrangement is cruel irony after predatory U.K.-based sports betting firms sank their fangs into Americans over recent years. What goes around comes around?
There are virtually no winners here, except for Powerball, which will undoubtedly receive much more media attention if its jackpots continue to break records. Unfortunately, we’ll probably write more articles about Powerball in the future, adding fuel to the content beast (but at least from a gambling harm POV).
That record $2 billion Powerball drawing came in 2022, ages ago in the era of shorter attention spans. Powerball surely craves the spotlight again in the TikTok age.
Lottery proponents will say… don’t forget the good causes! OK, yeah, there is money that goes to support seniors and education, etc. But who is paying for this? The answer is mostly people who are already down on their luck in life, who may see the lottery as their best chance at financial stability.
To use a British intensifier, this is all bloody bleak.
