Powerball FAQS

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET.

You must purchase tickets by 9:59 PM ET on draw days when you play Powerball in New Jersey.

You must be at least 18 years old to buy lottery tickets in New Jersey.

To play Powerball, you have to pick five numbers from 1 to 69, along with a Powerball from a separate set of 1 to 26. You can also add Power Play and Double Play to your ticket. Go to the How to Play page for a full step-by-step guide.

Power Play is an optional feature that increases the value of non-jackpot prizes. A draw is held to determine the value of the multiplier - 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or 10x, although the $1 million prize for matching five numbers is always doubled to $2 million.

Double Play is a separate game that is only offered in some states, and New Jersey is one of them. Your numbers from the main draw are entered into Double Play if you've added the option to your ticket, and you can win prizes up to $10 million.

Powerball costs $2 per play. Power Play is an extra $1, and Double Play is also an additional $1. If you add both optional features, for example, a single play would cost $4.

The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 24.9. Your chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292,201.

There are nine possible payouts in Powerball, ranging from $4 for matching the Powerball on its own, to the multimillion-dollar jackpot for matching all the numbers. Go to the Odds and Prizes page to learn more about the different ways to win.

Yes, the jackpot starts at $20 million and rolls every time it is not won. There is no limit to how high it can go.

The largest jackpot in Powerball history was worth $2.04 billion and was won in November 2022. The record for a New Jersey payout stands at $429 million - claimed by the Smith family lottery pool in May 2016.

There is a section on an NJ Powerball playslip where you should select whether you would take the jackpot as an annuity or a lump sum. If you select the lump sum (cash) option, this cannot be changed at a later date when you claim your prize. However, the annuity option can be changed to the cash lump sum at the time of prize claim.

You can claim prizes up to $599.99 from New Jersey Lottery retailers. Larger amounts will need to be claimed by mail or from the NJ Lottery headquarters. Go to the How to Claim page for more information.

You have one year to claim prizes in New Jersey. Keep in mind that if you buy a ticket while out of state, you must claim it in the same jurisdiction and the deadline might be different.

Yes, big winners have been allowed to stay anonymous in New Jersey since the legislation changed in 2020.