Three decades, over 1,560 draws, and almost $9 billion of division one prize money collectively won – we’re celebrating the 30th year of the Powerball game in Australia!

History of the Powerball game

Flashback to 1996: the first mobile flip phone hit the global market; the Spice Girls became pop royalty after debuting their hit single, ‘Wannabe’; George R.R. Martin published ‘A Game of Thrones’, and Australia launched a brand-new Thursday night lottery game called ‘Powerball’. 

The first Powerball draw, held on the 23 May 1996, offered a jackpot prize of $1 million. Back then, lottery players only needed to select five winning numbers from a barrel of 45 balls, plus the all-important Powerball number from a barrel of 45 balls, to win division one.  

Fast-forward to today, where the Powerball game has offered eye-watering jackpots – including a record-breaking $200 million prize - and unleashed millions of dreams for Aussies! Seven winning numbers are now drawn from a barrel of 35 balls, along with the Powerball number drawn from a barrel of 20 balls. 

Fast facts about our Powerball draws

• The most common Powerball number drawn since 1996 has been 17.

• When the Powerball jackpot reached a record-breaking $200 million for draw 1446, sales peaked at 5:20pm with 9,630 tickets sold in a single minute.  

• In May 2024, a South Australian man made history as Australia’s biggest-ever individual lottery winner after scoring $150 million in Powerball draw 1462. 

• A $100 million Sydney Powerball winner from draw 1517 who purchased their winning ticket at Bondi Junction Newsagency has still yet to come forward and claim their prize!

Winning Powerball entry types

In 2026 so far, half of the division one winning entries have been PowerHit tickets! A PowerHit is a unique entry that guarantees the all-important Powerball number needed to win division one.