Government Moves to Ban Betting on New Powerball Draws

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has opened a public consultation proposing to ban UK-licensed betting firms from taking bets on the National Lottery’s new Powerball format.
The consultation opened on 23 September 2026 with a proposal to prohibit third-party operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 from offering bets on Powerball.

It will run for six weeks, closing at 23:59 on Wednesday, November 4.

What’s actually changed

Powerball UK was launched by Allwyn UK, operator of the National Lottery, back in June, with the format hugely popular in the US, where jackpots have sometimes numbered in the billions.

Under Section 95 of the 2005 Gambling Act, betting firms are permitted to accept wagers on the outcomes of overseas lotteries – like the original US version of the Powerball – but not National Lottery products.

However, as the Powerball is a new product it is not covered by the current legislation, which only makes reference to the original suite of lottery products.
That gap is what the government now wants to close.

The consultation document states that to preserve the boundary between the National Lottery and gambling that Section 95 seeks to achieve, and to prevent harm to National Lottery good cause returns, the proposal is to introduce a licence condition prohibiting UK operators from offering bets on Powerball.

The new licence condition would apply under Section 78(1) of the Gambling Act 2005.

Officials looked at, and rejected, tougher and softer alternatives.
Other proposals considered but rejected to address the issue included a ban on all lottery bets, voluntary action encouraged by the Gambling Commission, or mandating that operators donate to Good Causes.

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, while a blanket ban on betting on lotteries was also judged disproportionate because wider non-National Lottery products do not raise good cause funds in the same way.

Explaining the thinking, DCMS minister Vicky Foxcroft said
Section 95 “seeks to preserve the distinction between betting and the National Lottery”
, and that the government wants to prevent
“customer confusion and threats to the additional good causes expected to be raised from Powerball”
by prohibiting third-party bets on the game’s draws.

What it means for you

If you currently place bets with a licensed UK bookmaker on the outcome of Powerball draws, that option is set to disappear if the proposal goes ahead, since operators would be barred from offering it under their licence conditions.
The department said the change would align Powerball’s treatment with other National Lottery products, which are already off-limits to third-party betting on game outcomes.
You would still be able to enter Powerball directly through the National Lottery itself. The government frames the change as consumer protection as much as revenue protection:
Foxcroft explained that Section 95 aims to prevent “customer confusion and threats to the additional good causes expected to be raised from Powerball”.

Nothing changes immediately.
The consultation runs for six weeks and covers all of the United Kingdom, with the department inviting submissions from across the betting and lottery sectors, operators that may be affected, players and other interested parties.
Anyone with views, including ordinary bettors, can respond before it closes.

The bigger picture

This sits alongside the government’s broader tightening of the boundary between commercial gambling and the National Lottery, an area DCMS has been active on through several consultations this year, including separate work on unlicensed operator sponsorship in sport. The Powerball gap is a reminder that new lottery products can temporarily slip outside existing gambling law until legislation catches up, and that the Gambling Commission’s licence conditions remain the government’s preferred tool for closing such gaps quickly rather than rewriting primary legislation.

Sources

• SBC News – UK closes in on National Lottery Powerball betting
• InterGame – UK government wants to stop Powerball betting
• Lottery Daily – New UK Powerball to be made off limits for betting firms
• Gaming.net – UK Government Proposes Ban on Third-Party Powerball Betting
• GOV.UK – Consultation on prohibiting third party betting on Powerball