Ohio online lottery players will soon have an extra chance to win big each week.
Beginning Aug. 23, Monday night drawings will be added to Powerball’s weekly drawing rotation. There are currently drawings on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
The addition of an extra drawing each week should result in larger and more frequent prizes for players.
Powerball pleasing the players
Powerball recognized that its players wanted a shot at bigger prizes. By adding a third drawing per week it seems that they have responded to their players’ requests.
Powerball Product Group Chair and Missouri Lottery Executive Director May Scheve Reardon explained the reason behind the decision to add another draw day:
“America’s jackpot game is picking up the pace to deliver bigger jackpots to our players. Players have let us know they want to play for bigger jackpots, and we want Powerball to deliver on their expectations.”
In addition to larger jackpots, the group anticipates a greater number of cash prizes and jackpots annually, something that would benefit both the players and states that have Powerball themselves.
Ticket sales from the added drawing will help fund public programs. In Ohio, all net proceeds from the lottery go toward funding state education programs. Since 1974, the state’s lottery has contributed over $27 billion to education.
Will the extra drawing affect the odds of winning?
Despite the extra drawing for Powerball and the potential for a larger jackpot, the odds of a player winning remain the same.
The odds of a player winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The odds of a player winning any cash prize are 1 in 24.9. These odds remain the same no matter the size of the prize pool and are still applicable even with the third draw day added.
To win the jackpot a player must correctly choose five numbers in any order from 1 to 69 to be drawn on white balls and choose the correct number from 1 to 26 drawn on the red Powerball.
When can players get in on the extra drawing?
Tickets for the first Monday drawing will not go on sale until August 22. For those that like to use the multi-draw feature, the Ohio Lottery is implementing a roll down schedule to decrease the amount of draws available for multi-draw purchases leading up to the change.
The number of multi-draws available currently sits at five. It will decrease by one with each drawing that takes place until August 23. No fear, however, as the multi-draw wagers will return to their normal amount of ten after the first Monday drawing.
Those wishing to play Powerball can purchase tickets at participating locations or even using the Jackpocket app, which is a third-party app used to purchase official lottery tickets in select states.
If you are a Circle K customer, you can access $5 off your first purchase of lottery tickets through the app using your local store’s unique promo code and grab a couple of $2 Powerball tickets for free to get in on the action.
Powerball drawings take place at 10:59 p.m. EST on draw days. The drawing airs live on the Powerball website. The deadline to buy tickets for a given draw is at 10:00 p.m. EST on the day of the draw.
The extra weekly drawing adds evens more excitement to an already thrilling game, and there’s never been a better time to grab a Powerball ticket and see if you will be the one taking home the jackpot.
