The UK government is considering a ban on licensed gambling operators in Great Britain from accepting third-party bets on Powerball draws. This move aims to align Powerball with other products in the National Lottery.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has initiated a six-week consultation regarding the introduction of a new licensing condition under Section 78(1) of the Gambling Act 2005. This consultation is open to the UK public and will conclude at 23:59 on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
Powerball was added to the National Lottery portfolio on July 21, 2026, when Allwyn UK launched the game outside the United States for the first time. However, a few gambling operators had already been allowing UK customers to place bets on the results of the US draw.
Currently, Section 95 of the Gambling Act prevents betting license holders from offering bets on lotteries that are part of the National Lottery, such as Lotto, EuroMillions, and Thunderball. Since Powerball is not considered part of the UK National Lottery, it is not included in this restriction.
Operators will still be able to accept bets on other lotteries that are not part of the National Lottery, like the Irish Lotto. The proposed licensing condition aims to specifically prohibit betting on Powerball, bringing it in line with other lottery games governed by the National Lottery.
The consultation document states, “To maintain the clear distinction between the National Lottery and gambling as intended by Section 95 of the Gambling Act, and to avoid any adverse effects on National Lottery contributions to good causes, we propose to introduce a licensing condition that would ban UK operators from offering bets on Powerball.”
The government expressed concerns that allowing both official Powerball participation and third-party betting could confuse customers and diminish the National Lottery's contributions to charitable causes. This concern is based on findings from before the 2018 ban on betting on non-UK EuroMillions draws, where efforts to clarify the situation did not eliminate customer confusion.
The National Lottery generates approximately £1.8 billion ($2.38 billion) each year for various causes, including arts, heritage, sports, and community projects, with around 23% of sales funding these areas. In contrast, third-party betting operators typically do not allocate proceeds from lottery bets to charitable causes.
Allwyn anticipates that Powerball will contribute an additional £1 billion ($1.32 billion) to good causes over the next five years. Their plans under the fourth National Lottery license include boosting good-cause funding to £60 million ($79 million) weekly by 2034. Since its inception in 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £53 billion ($70 billion) for more than 680,000 projects and is not classified as gambling under the Gambling Act 2005.
The government acknowledged that there is limited current evidence regarding how many customers using third-party operators would switch to the National Lottery if such betting were banned. The consultation aims to gather insights on this matter, as well as the potential effects on funding for good causes.
Other alternatives considered included voluntary actions by operators, requiring betting companies to contribute to charitable causes, and a complete ban on bets for all lotteries. However, the government deemed these alternatives less effective or inappropriate.
The consultation also seeks input from operators regarding the Gross Gambling Yield derived from Powerball betting, methods to differentiate official participation from betting, and anticipated transition costs.
Participants are invited to share whether they have placed third-party Powerball bets, how often they do so, their spending habits, and if they would choose to play through the National Lottery if such betting were prohibited. Respondents must be at least 18 years old. The government is looking for a broad range of opinions from betting and lottery operators, players, and organizations.