UK Proposes Powerball Betting Ban After 64-Day Overlap
Britain wants licensed gambling operators to stop taking bets on US Powerball results. The proposal comes 64 days after Powerball became an official National Lottery game in the UK, while third-party betting on the same draws remained legal.
The DCMS consultation opened on September 23. Responses are due by November 4.
For now, operators can still offer the bets. The government plans to deal with that through a new licence condition covering Powerball betting in Great Britain.
The issue comes from the wording of Section 95 of the Gambling Act 2005. It prohibits betting on lotteries forming part of the National Lottery. The US draw behind Powerball is not itself part of it.
That leaves the current betting products outside the automatic ban.
Three Betting Licence Types Sit in Scope
DCMS lists three licence types that would be covered:
- General betting operating licences;
- Pool betting licences;
- Betting intermediary licences.
The proposal is limited to Powerball. Betting on other foreign lotteries would still be possible. The consultation uses Irish Lotto as one example.
There is already a similar rule for EuroMillions. Restrictions were introduced in 2018 for bets linked to non-UK versions of the same EuroMillions draw.
DCMS says only a small number of operators offer Powerball betting at present. It does not name them.
Lottoland Still Offers £3.50 Powerball Bets
15M checked the market on September 24 and found one live product. Lottoland’s UK Powerball page describes its offer as betting on the result of the US draw. It lists a standard line at £3.50.
EU Lotto Limited, operator of lottoland.co.uk, has an active UK General Betting Standard remote licence. The official National Lottery game costs £4 per line, according to Allwyn’s launch announcement.
On that comparison, the Lottoland line is 50p cheaper. That is a 12.5% difference.
DCMS also notes that betting versions of lottery products can be offered below the cost of the official entry.
Powerball Betting Gap Lasted 64 Days Before Consultation
Powerball joined the National Lottery on July 21. DCMS opened the consultation on September 23. The dates leave 64 days between the UK launch and the first formal move to close the betting gap.
Money going to good causes is part of the government’s case. DCMS says around 23% of National Lottery sales is allocated to good causes. Annual funding is about £1.8 billion.
Allwyn has separately estimated another £1 billion over five years from UK Powerball. That works out at roughly £200 million a year if spread evenly across the period.
There is no equivalent good-causes contribution attached to a normal bookmaker bet on the US draw. DCMS has not put a revenue figure on the existing Powerball betting market. Instead, it asks operators how much of their annual GGY comes from these bets.
Players get a separate question: whether money now spent on Powerball betting would instead go to the National Lottery product if the proposed restriction takes effect.