BLIMEY! Powerball goes global with expansion into UK



The Powerball lottery is officially expanding into new territory this week.

For the first time in history, a winner of the gigantic Powerball pot could be from outside the United States.

'More excitement and even greater impact.'

Odds and sods

Powerball announced earlier this month that it will welcome non-U.S. lottery contributions to its jackpot — something it has never done before — and has joined forces with a lottery organization in the United Kingdom.

Tickets for Wednesday's draw are being sold both in the U.S. and the U.K., meaning the Powerball jackpot could have a winner from across the pond.

As it stands, overall odds for winning a prize are one in 24.9, while odds at winning the jackpot are a whopping one in 292.2 million.

Widening its consumer base will not alter the game's $2 ticket price, the Multi-State Lottery Association said, nor will the jackpot odds decrease. The MUSL is partnering with Allwyn U.K., the national lottery operators in its jurisdiction.

RELATED: $167 million Powerball winner arrested for 4th time since winning lottery after allegedly stealing cash during burglary

ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

'Dream bigger'

The addition of the U.K. customer base will not change the time of Powerball drawings either, which will still take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. from the Powerball draw studio in Florida.

The gaming commissions praised their new partnership as a "thrilling milestone" that means the sum of the jackpots will grow bigger and faster.

This brings "more excitement and even greater impact for the communities we serve," said Rebecca Paul, CEO of the Tennessee Lottery and former president of the World Lottery Association.

Allwyn CEO Andria Vidler said her organization was excited to give U.K. players "the chance to dream bigger, while supporting thousands of Good Cause projects across the U.K. every week."

Some of the listed projects from the U.K. lottery have included reopening a cinema and providing animals for trips to senior living homes.

RELATED: Ivy League techies invent AI scam callers — but don't worry, it's only for 'research'

Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

Charity at home

At the same time, however, Paul added that the expansion into the United Kingdom does not change where the money goes for American players, and "every Powerball ticket sold in the U.S. will continue to support programs and services right here at home."

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and now the United Kingdom. This includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

$167 million Powerball winner arrested for 4th time since winning lottery after allegedly stealing cash during burglary



A Kentucky man who won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot less than a year ago has been arrested for the fourth time since winning the lottery, according to multiple reports.

James Shannon Farthing, 51, and his mother won the $167.3 million Powerball lottery on April 26, 2025, which was the largest prize ever awarded in Kentucky.

The woman later reported to officers that she feared for her life while at Farthing's house, according to police.

The Courier-Journal obtained an arrest citation saying Farthing "unlawfully entered" a residence in Lexington around 7:16 p.m. March 28.

The citation noted that the resident of the house said she witnessed Farthing on a security camera before hearing a "loud noise that sounded as if the door had been busted open."

The resident informed police that she was missing $12,000 in cash, according to the citation.

WLEX-TV reported that Farthing fled the crime scene in a black Porsche.

Police said they located Farthing in his vehicle in a parking lot.

The arrest citation revealed that officers observed a burnt marijuana blunt in an ashtray, which led them to search the vehicle, where they discovered additional marijuana and blunts.

Farthing was charged with possession of marijuana and burglary.

Farthing's $10,000 cash bond was posted March 29.

WKYT-TV reported that Farthing has entered a not guilty plea to the charges.

Farthing is scheduled to appear in court April 27.

RELATED: Dad accused of killing daughter's alleged rapist wins Republican sheriff nomination: 'We're just getting started'

The Courier-Journal previously reported Farthing was arrested on Feb. 11 for allegedly intimidating a participant in a legal process, citing records from Scott County District Court.

The Scott County Sheriff's Department said Farthing picked a woman up from her Lexington home for a get-together.

"The woman allegedly told law enforcement Farthing gave her a 'gummy' she felt pressured to take, though she was not sure what was in the gummy," the Courier-Journal reported.

The woman later reported to police that she feared for her life while at Farthing's house, according to police.

When deputies arrived at the house, they noticed a firearm and ammunition "in plain view" on Farthing's bedside table, the citation stated.

Due to her intoxication level, the woman was transferred to a local hospital.

The citation noted that while at the hospital, the woman showed text messages to officers she was actively receiving from Farthing.

Officers who were still at Farthing's home seized his cell phone, police said.

According to the citation, one text message Farthing wrote to the woman read: "Why would you do this to me unreal id never hurt you."

The citation said Farthing told police that the woman had been "perfectly fine" before she disappeared and that he sent her multiple text messages in an attempt "to locate her."

Farthing was arrested and charged with attempting to influence the woman "by means of harassing communications."

Farthing was ordered not to contact the woman, according to court records.

Farthing was arrested in November 2025 in connection with a hit-and-run collision in Fayette County, according to the Courier-Journal. Farthing was charged with wanton endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident/failure to render aid or assistance.

As Blaze News previously reported, Farthing was arrested in Florida on April 29, 2025, just one day after he and his mother claimed the $167.3 million lottery jackpot.

Police released chaotic bodycam video of Farthing appearing to assault a deputy.

He was charged with battery and resisting an officer.

WLEX previously reported that Farthing pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of battery and obstructing or resisting an officer without violence on Feb. 27, 2026.

Farthing received a sentence of time served after spending nine days in jail, according to court documents.

WLEX noted that Farthing was ordered to pay a total of $1,000 in fines, including $151 to the Rape Crisis Trust Fund and $201 to the Domestic Violence Trust Fund.

Citing online court records, People magazine reported that Farthing is awaiting arraignments in two separate cases in April, but it could not confirm the charges in those cases.

The Scott County attorney and the Fayette County Commonwealth’s attorney did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Iowa Lottery posts incorrect Powerball numbers — and those who claimed prize before mistake was noticed can keep the cash



Some lucky players in Iowa received an early Christmas present this year after the state lottery posted the wrong Powerball numbers earlier this week but still allowed some of those with winning tickets for the wrong numbers to keep their prize money.

The confusion began with the Powerball drawing on Monday night. Even though the Iowa Lottery requires two people in two separate locations to record the winning numbers before those numbers can become official — a process that an Iowa Lottery blog post called "redundant reporting procedures" — the numbers somehow became garbled, and the lottery website accidentally posted the wrong Powerball numbers at around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

By 7:15 a.m. that same morning, some lottery staffers noticed the error and immediately suspended the Powerball results on lottery terminals, the blog post said. After about 7:30 a.m., anyone who attempted to scan a ticket received the following message: "Draw has not occurred, more draws remain."

During that nearly seven-hour gap, however, early birds who had a ticket with the incorrect Powerball results could have sauntered into a nearby convenience store or other self-serve kiosk to collect their money. The Iowa Lottery has since passively indicated that it will honor those erroneous winnings, perhaps because it has no choice.

"Prizes were paid for any of those tickets presented during the time period that the incorrect results were posted," the blog post admitted.

Meanwhile, the lottery scrambled to record the correct numbers across the state. By 3:30 p.m., the correct numbers — 2-21-38-61-66 and Powerball 12 and a Power Play® number of 2 — were posted, and players with tickets corresponding to those numbers were able to collect their winnings.

The Powerball may sound like a major prize, but payouts actually range from $4 to $200. Though individual winnings are relatively insignificant, the lottery reported that by Wednesday afternoon, nearly 4,000 ticket-holders with the correct Powerball numbers had already collected winnings, bringing the statewide total to almost $25,000.

In the blog post, the lottery apologized for the mix-up, claimed that it affected just a "small" number of people, and promised "to review drawing procedures with an eye toward improvements in the future."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Now the lottery is apparently another form of 'systemic racism,' critics allege



Is the lottery yet another example of "systemic racism" in America? Some researchers who recently spoke to CNN said "yes."

The allegations come after a single Powerball ticket won the biggest jackpot — more than $2 billion — in Powerball game history this week. The ticket was sold in Altadena, California, beating the astronomical winning odds of 1 in 292.2 million.

What are the claims?

Lottery critics allege lower-income communities are scammed with marketing that claims playing the lottery means getting rich quick.

The result, critics say, is that lower-income people spend more of their discretionary income — which they already have less of — on the lottery, often leading to losses or small wins that keep them playing, but ultimately resulting in transferring more wealth out of their communities.

Les Bernal, national director for Stop Predatory Gambling, even alleges the lottery is a form of "systemic racism."

"State lotteries are the most neglected example of systemic racism in the United States than any other issue or problem, I should say, in our country," he told NPR last week.

In his interview with CNN, Bernal explained the on-the-ground reality.

"[People are] hoping to pay their rent at the end of the month or pay an outstanding medical bill or put their kids through college or they just lost their job and they’re just trying to find a way to make ends meet," he said. "And here you have what is a government program encouraging citizens to lose their money on rigged games."

At least one study, conducted by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, has shown that lottery retailers are disproportionately placed in lower-income communities, luring nearby residents with the dream of getting out of poor economic circumstances.

In fact, while state lotteries are billed as helping with education and other public works, what actually happens is that people from poorer communities do not benefit.

"You have low-income people, essentially paying for college scholarships for middle-class and upper-class families to go to college. It's the American dream, completely in reverse," Bernal told NPR.

How much is spent on the lottery?

Americans reportedly spent more than $105 billion lottery tickets last year.

One Powerball ticket matches winning numbers for record $2.04 billion prize — but if a lump sum is chosen, far less will be taken home



A single Powerball ticket matched all the winning numbers drawn for a record payout of $2.04 billion, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

But if a lump sum is chosen, far less will be taken home.

What are the details?

The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California — a community in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles, the AP said.

Joe’s Service Center will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million for selling the winning ticket, the AP added.

It's taken more than three months of drawings to get to a top-prize winning ticket, the outlet said, adding that the winning numbers were 10, 33, 41, 47, and 56 (white balls) and another number 10 on the red Powerball.

More from the AP:

The $2.04 billion jackpot was by far the largest lottery prize ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016. Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none of those are close to the current prize, which started at $20 million back on Aug. 6 and has grown over three winless months. No one has won the jackpot since Aug. 3.

The jackpot was initially reported as an estimated $1.9 billion on Monday, but the prize was increased to $2.04 billion Tuesday morning after updated calculations.

The winning numbers were actually drawn Tuesday morning — almost 10 hours after the scheduled Monday night drawing — because of problems processing sales data at one of the game’s member lotteries, the AP noted.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, the outlet added.

The $2.04 billion prize is for an annuity paid annually over 29 years, the AP said — but nearly all winners choose a single cash payout, and this one is valued at $997.6 million.

Calm down, y'all

If the winner or winners chose the nearly 1 billion lump sum, Forbes said the IRS will get a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding of $239,424,000 — and that leaves a reduced total of $758,176,000.

The magazine added that the winner or winners get socked again with a federal marginal rate of up to 37%. Forbes said that means the total is lessened by another $126,560,096 — assuming there are no additional incomes, dependents, or itemized tax deductions such as charitable giving — resulting in a final total of $631,615,904.

The kicker? With all the legit complaints about California life of late, the Golden State has at least one thing going for it — it's one of 14 states that don’t tax prize winnings, Forbes said.

Here's a video of folks at Joe's Service Center reacting to the $1 million bonus prize:

Powerball jackpot-winning ticket sold in Altadena, Californiawww.youtube.com

Lottery Myths Debunked
play icon

Lottery Myths Debunked