Most players in the USA will now be aware that the 2012 changes to the Powerball have been put in place.
The marketing has been telling us all how the Powerball is now easier to win, because that’s what we wanted. And of course that the minimum grand prize has been increased from $20 Million to $40 Million. Great.
The bit that comes in the small print though is that the ticket price has just doubled. That’s now $2 when it used to be $1.
So Have The Odds Of Winning Powerball Really Improved?
That depends on how you look at it.
The odds used to be a rather awful 1-in-195,000,000 (1-in-195 million) for the grand prize.
It’s now a slightly less awful 1-in-175,000,000.
But as the ticket price has doubled, that now means you can only buy half as many tickets for the same money. Which effectively doubles the odds!
In other words if you spent $10 on Powerball tickets before the changes you got 10 tickets. Which gave you a 10-in-195,000,000 chance of the grand prize. That’s the same as 1-in-19,500,000 Million.
Now your $10 will only buy you 5 tickets. With the new odds that now makes 5-in-175,000,000. Which is the same as 1-in-35,000,000.
Which of course is nearly double the previous odds.
Will you keep playing Powerball after these changes? Or will you switch to another lottery?
If you’re finding the Powerball odds too tough, then take a look at our USA lottery syndicates – they might help you even things up a little.
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