Launched in 1996, Australian Powerball was originally based on the popular USA version of the same game with just a few slight differences, the biggest one being that the American game allowed players to win a prize purely by matching the Powerball number.
Australia’s version uses a double matrix of 5/45 and 1/45, the main 5 numbers drawn first followed by the Power Ball draw. This means that players select 5 numbers between 1 and 45 before selecting their Powerball number, also between 1 and 45, allowing for a double up if the player so desires.
To win the jackpot, players must match all 5 main numbers as well as the Power Ball.
This very popular game records on average two big winners every Thursday night and holds the record for the highest jackpot amount won by a single ticket holder with $58.7 Million being awarded in June 2008.
Thirteen months later, July 2009, it recorded its highest ever jackpot of 90 Million, which was won by two lucky ticket holders.
