Starting Powerball Jackpot to Change to $20 Million
Thursday March 26th 2020Officials have announced that the Powerball starting jackpot will change to $20 million and will roll over by a minimum of $2 million between draws. The changes will take effect after the jackpot has next been won.
The Powerball Product Group announced the news on March 25. Group Chairman and Maine Lottery Director Gregory Mineo explained the reasons behind the change: “Powerball players in many U.S. lottery jurisdictions are under shelter-in-place orders or recommendations from their governors or mayors, which have affected normal consumer behaviors.
“Just like other enterprises around the world that are making adjustments, we are making proactive changes to continue to offer the world’s premier lottery product.”
The new starting jackpot amount will apply to the annuitized amount and will replace the current minimum jackpot of $40 million. “We would like to offer support to our loyal players during this unprecedented time,” Mineo added. “We are committed to being America’s favorite jackpot game.”
The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $160 million and will continue to roll over until someone wins it. The new starting jackpot will come into play when the current jackpot does get won. It has not yet been confirmed whether this is a permanent change or a temporary measure to be in place during the current coronavirus crisis.
Powerball draws are currently scheduled to continue as normal at 10:59pm ET every Wednesday and Saturday. Many state lotteries have taken steps to help protect the health of their staff and customers during the Covid-19 outbreak, so you may find that claiming prizes and purchasing tickets is not as easy as usual.
You can find a list of all the changes that state lotteries have implemented on the Coronavirus lottery updates page.
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