When you play Powerball, you will see that you can add an option called the Power Play to your ticket. The Power Play is Powerball’s very own multiplier. What it does is to multiply the secondary prizes winners get by up to 10 times! Read more on how it works below.
What Is the Powerball Power Play?
The Powerball Power Play is Powerball’s own multiplier feature that can be added on to your entry when you buy a US Powerball ticket. A lottery multiplier boosts secondary prizes, depending on the lottery’s rules.
The Power Play can multiply Powerball’s secondary prizes by 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 10 times (if the jackpot doesn’t exceed $15 Crore).
How Does the Powerball Power Play Work?
If you win a second category prize and had selected the Power Play option during your purchase, your win will be multiplied by the number of times indicated by the Power Play that comes out during the Powerball draw. There is only one exception: the second prize which is automatically doubled with the Power Play.
Powerball Power Play Resume
- To add the Power Play to your ticket, you need to tick the Power Play option.
- The Power Play is drawn on a grid between 2 and 5 (a Power Play x10 is included if the jackpot amount doesn’t exceed USD15 Crore) during the official draw.
- The Powerball Power Play determines by how many times the Powerball secondary prizes are multiplied (from 3rd to 9th prize).
- The Powerball Power Play automatically doubles the second prize of the game
- The Power Play multiplier does not apply to the jackpot!
How To Add the Power Play multiplier Online?
Time needed: 1 minute
Here is how to add the Powerball Power Play to your entry on LottoSmile:
- Choose the Powerball lottery
Start by choosing the Powerball lottery between the 50+ available lotteries the platform offers. Then choose your numbers (or use the Quick Pick option to get a random selection of numbers). - Tick the Powerball Power Play option
Under the numbers, you will see a box with the Power Play multiplier. If you tick this box, you will enter the game with the multiplier. It will add a little extra to your Powerball ticket price, but will be worth it if you win. - Check the results
Once you will be done with the purchase of your entry, you will only have to wait for the Powerball results. If you scooped a prize, check the Power Play to see by how much your prize will be multiplied. You can see more about how the prizes increase in our explicative tables below.
How Are Prizes Increasing With the Powerball Power Play?
As mentionned above, the Powerball jackpot is not influenced by the Power Play multiplier in any way. The second prize is automatically doubled while all other prizes are multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 10 times (when the jackpot doesn’t exceed $15 Crore).
Here is a detailed table of how the Powerball Power Play influences the prizes you take home:
| Match | Prize | Power Play x2 | Power Play x3 | Power Play x4 | Power Play x5 | Power Play x10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ + 🟢 | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot | Jackpot |
| ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ | USD10 Lakh | USD20 Lakh | USD20 Lakh | USD20 Lakh | USD20 Lakh | USD20 Lakh |
| ⚪⚪⚪⚪ + 🟢 | USD50,000 | USD1,00,000 | USD1,50,000 | USD2,00,000 | USD2,50,000 | USD5,00,000 |
| ⚪⚪⚪⚪ | USD100 | USD200 | USD300 | USD400 | USD500 | USD1,000 |
| ⚪⚪⚪ + 🟢 | USD100 | USD200 | USD300 | USD400 | USD500 | USD1,000 |
| ⚪⚪⚪ | USD7 | USD14 | USD21 | USD28 | USD35 | USD70 |
| ⚪⚪ + 🟢 | USD7 | USD14 | USD21 | USD28 | USD35 | USD70 |
| ⚪ + 🟢 | USD4 | USD8 | USD12 | USD16 | USD20 | USD40 |
| 🟢 | USD4 | USD8 | USD12 | USD16 | USD20 | USD40 |
It’s quite simple: you guess the 5 main numbers, without guessing the Powerball, you still have a chance of becoming very rich if you checked the Power Play option when getting your entry. Indeed, if you opt for the Powerball multiplier, you automatically double the second prize if you win it. You can also double, triple, quadruple or quintuple all the other Powerball prizes that follow.
Odds & Power Play
Eventhough the Power Play does not influence your odds of winning, it does influence the amount you scoop. With the Powerball Power Play, there are really 2 scenarios:
- when the jackpot hasn’t reached $15 Crore yet: the Power Play x2, x3, x4, x5 and even x10 will be in the games. The odds for each Power Play value is than as follow:
| Balls | Odds | |
|---|---|---|
| Power Play x2 | 24 | 1/1.79 |
| Power Play x3 | 13 | 1/3.3 |
| Power Play x4 | 3 | 1/14.3 |
| Power Play x5 | 2 | 1/21.5 |
| Power Play x10 | 1 | 1/43 |
| 43 |
- when the jackpot exceeds $15 Crore: the Power Play x10 will be removed from the game and will remain the Power Play x2, x3, x4 and x5. You will then get the following odds of the Power Play:
| Balls | Odds | |
|---|---|---|
| Power Play x2 | 24 | 1/2 |
| Power Play x3 | 13 | 1/3.2 |
| Power Play x4 | 3 | 1/14 |
| Power Play x5 | 2 | 1/21 |
| 42 |
In conclusion, no matter what, the Power Play multiplier is worth it as it increases the value of prizes you win at US Powerball.
How To Choose the Power Play
When participating in the Powerball lottery, you cannot “choose” the Power Play. You can opt for the Power Play option when purchasing your entry, and thus ensure that if you win a secondary prize, it will be automatically multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10. The Power Play is drawn from a different drum and sets the number of times the secondary Powerball prizes will be multiplied (except the 2nd prize).
Power Play vs Megaplier
In US, the Power Play is considered one of the best lottery multipliers on the market (if not the best). However, close behind is the Megaplier which is Mega Millions own multiplier. You can activate this option when playing US Mega Millions online as well.
Powerball and Mega Millions are not the only ones to offer multipliers, but they both represent American Lotteries at their best.
They also are quite similar eventhough we can still find some differences. Here is what makes them similar but unique:
Similarities:
- The Powerball Power Play & the Mega Millions Megaplier both don’t apply to the jackpot.
- Both multpliers can increase secondary prizes 2, 3, 4, or 5 times.
Differences:
- The second prize can only be doubled with the Power Play, while it can be multiplied by 2, 3, 4 or 5 with the Megaplier.
- The Power Play offers the x10 multiplier for secondary prizes (3rd to 9th) when the jackpot does not exceed $15 Crore. This is what sets it apart and places it well ahead of the Mega Millions, in the race for the biggest jackpots!
Powerball Power Play FAQ
The Power Play is Powerball’s very own multiplier. What it does is to multiply the secondary prizes winners get by up to 10 times!
You can check the Power Play option on your ticket during the purchase. If you added this option to your ticket, when you win a secondary prize, this one will be multiplied by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times. Your secondary prize can also be multiplied by up to 10 times if the jackpot did not exceed $15 Crore. The second prize is the only exception: it is automatically multiplied by 2 when you scoop it with the Power Play.
You cannot. The Power Play multiplier is an option you can choose to add to your ticket during purchase. During the draw, a Power Play value will be pulled out from a separate drum, and it will establish by how much the secondary prizes will be multiplied (2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times if the jackpot doesn’t exceed $15 Crore – 2, 3, 4 or 5 times if the jackpot exceeds $15 Crore).