Government Moves to Close the Loophole on Powerball Betting

Val D · 25 September 2026

A quirk in the small print is about to catch up with one of the year’s biggest lottery launches. The government has opened a consultation that would stop licensed betting firms from letting UK customers wager on the outcome of Powerball draws, a game that only exists in the National Lottery’s line-up because Allwyn brought it over from the US this summer.

What’s been released

Allwyn UK, the operator awarded the 4th Licence for the National Lottery, introduced the US-based Powerball draw game into its portfolio on July 21, 2026
, and
the launch marked the first time the game had been available outside the United States
. Off the back of that,
the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on September 23, 2026 opened a public consultation on a proposal to prohibit third-party operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 from offering bets on Powerball
.
The consultation will run for six weeks and will close at 23:59 on Wednesday, November 4
, with officials seeking views from the betting and lottery sectors alike.

What’s changed

The gap the government wants to close is a genuinely odd one.
Section 95 of the Gambling Act 2005 bars a betting licence holder from offering bets on the outcome of any lottery forming part of the National Lottery, a restriction already covering draw-based games such as EuroMillions, Lotto and Thunderball
. But because the underlying US draw predates its adoption by the National Lottery,
Powerball sits outside that prohibition… because the underlying US Powerball draw, the one on which operators take bets, is not itself part of the UK National
Lottery’s original portfolio. The result has been an unusual overlap:
since July 21, both products have been on offer side by side: official play through the National Lottery, and betting on the draw through third-party operators
.

DCMS Undersecretary of State Vicky Foxcroft has framed the fix as protecting the line between the two.
Section 95, Foxcroft explained, “seeks to preserve the distinction between betting and the National Lottery” and prevent “customer confusion and threats to the additional good causes expected to be raised from Powerball”
. The consultation document itself sets out the proposed mechanism plainly:
the government therefore proposes to prohibit licensed operators in Great Britain from offering third party bets on the National Lottery’s Powerball game draws
. Notably, softer alternatives were considered and dropped.
Requiring operators to donate to good causes was set aside as disproportionate, since it would force commercial organisations to alter the nature of their business, and a blanket ban on betting on lotteries was also set aside as disproportionate to businesses
.

Where it fits

This wouldn’t be the first time a National Lottery blockbuster has forced betting firms to stop offering a side bet on it. Regulators went through the same exercise with another draw-based favourite:
following a year of consultation, the British Government banned third-party betting on the EuroMillions lottery in April 2018, which closed the loophole used by betting companies to allow gamblers to bet on international lotteries in the UK
. Powerball’s arrival has clearly reopened the same question, only this time the stakes are higher given the format’s reputation.
The game is known for producing exceptionally large jackpots, with prizes in the US occasionally reaching into the billions
, and Allwyn has pitched the UK version as a major addition to its good-causes ambitions. For players, the practical upshot if the ban goes ahead is straightforward: anyone wanting a stake in a Powerball result will need to buy an official National Lottery ticket rather than place a bet through a licensed bookmaker, with any changes unlikely to land before the consultation closes in November.

Government Moves to Close the Loophole on Powerball Betting

What’s been released

What’s changed

Where it fits

Sources

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