A new Department for Culture, Media and Sport consultation is asking whether licensed betting operators should be stopped from offering wagers on Powerball draw results. The proposal would effectively give the new National Lottery game the same protection already applied to products such as Lotto, EuroMillions and Thunderball.
The consultation runs until November, with the government seeking views from gambling operators, lottery businesses, consumers and other interested parties before deciding whether to introduce a new licence condition.
The timing is notable because Powerball has only recently entered the UK market. Allwyn launched the game through the National Lottery on July 21, making the UK the first market outside the US to offer the format through its national lottery.
A Gap in the Gambling Act
The problem comes down to how the Gambling Act 2005 was written. Specifically, Section 95 prevents licensed betting operators from taking bets on the outcome of lotteries that form part of the National Lottery. That covers the established National Lottery portfolio, but it does not automatically cover the underlying US Powerball draw.
That distinction matters because betting operators can currently offer customers bets on the result of Powerball, while those same customers can also play the official UK version through the National Lottery.
The government says this creates a regulatory mismatch. Powerball is now part of the National Lottery in Britain, but the US draw on which third-party bets are placed is not itself part of that portfolio. Officials therefore want to use licensing powers under Section 78(1) to create a specific restriction covering Powerball. The proposed condition would apply to general betting, pool betting and betting intermediary licences. Operators would still be able to offer bets on lotteries outside the National Lottery, including games such as the Irish Lotto.
Good Causes Are a Major Part of the Argument
National Lottery products generated around £1.8 billion for Good Causes annually, according to the consultation, with roughly 23% of sales going toward those funds. The concern is that third-party Powerball betting could redirect some consumer spending away from the official National Lottery product.
That argument becomes more significant given the scale of Powerball jackpots. Allwyn expects the UK launch to generate an additional £1 billion for Good Causes over five years.
The government also points to a potential consumer issue. Someone looking to play Powerball could encounter both the official National Lottery product and a bookmaker offering a bet on the outcome, without necessarily understanding that the two are legally different products. Officials say there was similar evidence of confusion around EuroMillions before restrictions were introduced in 2018. The consultation argues that allowing both products to coexist could blur the distinction between playing the National Lottery and betting on a lottery outcome.
Government Chooses a Targeted Approach
The Powerball proposal is narrower than some of the alternatives considered during the policy process. The government looked at voluntary action from operators, requirements for betting companies to contribute to Good Causes and a much broader prohibition covering betting on all lotteries.
None was selected as the preferred approach since a voluntary system had already been attempted around EuroMillions, but the government says customer confusion remained. A mandatory contribution from betting operators was considered disproportionate and could further blur the difference between betting and official lottery participation.
The final decision will come after the consultation closes on November 4. Until then, third-party betting on Powerball remains a legal product for licensed operators, highlighting how quickly the UK’s regulatory framework has had to respond to the arrival of a new National Lottery game.
