Powerball tickets are sold at licensed lottery retailers in 45 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with most buyers picking them up at convenience stores, gas stations, grocery chains, and a few Walmart customer-service desks; in a small number of states residents can also order through licensed courier apps such as Jackpocket or Lotto.com. This guide walks through exactly where Powerball tickets are carried by Multi-State Lottery Association retailers, which five states do not sell Powerball tickets, how online couriers deliver tickets legally, and what cutoff times apply to tickets before each Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Powerball drawing.
Top Places to Buy Powerball Tickets in 2026
Below are five vetted retailer categories and courier services, chosen by coverage footprint, average wait time at the counter, and verified licensing with state lottery commissions. Every outlet listed below is regulated by a U.S. state lottery authority operating under the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
- Best overall convenience-store pickup: 7-Eleven store locator, roughly 9,500 U.S. locations, the highest density of any single chain selling Powerball and open 24/7 in most metros.
- Best grocery lottery desk for multi-game play: Publix store locator, lottery counters in participating southeastern stores carry Powerball alongside Mega Millions and state scratchers.
- Best licensed online courier (PA, NY, NJ, TX, and 14 other states): Jackpocket official site, a state-regulated courier that buys physical slips on your behalf and emails a scanned receipt within minutes.
- Best state subscription service: Virginia Lottery online play, one of a handful of state lotteries (VA, KY, MI, NH, NC, GA, IL, PA) that sells subscriptions or single draws directly to in-state residents through a verified age-and-geolocation check.
- Best for office pools and group play: California Lottery group play guide, the California Lottery publishes a free group-play form and claim process that any office pool can model.
Where to Buy Powerball Tickets at Local Retailers
The overwhelming majority of Powerball tickets in the United States are still bought in person at a lottery terminal. Convenience stores lead the volume of tickets sold: 7-Eleven, Wawa, Sheetz, Circle K, Cumberland Farms, and QuikTrip all issue tickets in every participating state where they operate. Gas-station brands such as Shell, BP, Exxon, and Chevron typically host a terminal that prints tickets inside the attached convenience shop rather than at the fuel island, so walk past the pumps to reach the counter.
Grocery chains are the second-largest retail channel for tickets. Kroger (including Fred Meyer, Ralphs, King Soopers, and Harris Teeter banners), Publix, H-E-B, Albertsons, Safeway, Giant Eagle, Winn-Dixie, and ShopRite all operate lottery desks that issue tickets in participating states. A limited number of Walmart Supercenters, roughly one in five, concentrated in the Midwest and South, sell tickets through the customer-service counter, but corporate policy leaves the choice to each store manager, so call ahead before making a trip.
Smaller retailers matter too. Independent tobacco shops, liquor stores, newsstands, airport kiosks, and truck stops like Pilot and Love’s Travel Stops frequently host terminals that dispense tickets around the clock. To confirm the nearest licensed seller, every participating state lottery website hosts a free retailer locator, for example, the New York Lottery retailer finder returns every authorized store within a ZIP code radius you choose, complete with hours and whether the terminal accepts self-service ticket purchases.
Can You Buy Powerball Tickets Online?
Yes, buying Powerball tickets online is possible in a minority of states, and only through two narrow legal channels. The first is a direct state-run platform: Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, and Pennsylvania all operate iLottery portals that sell draw-game entries to adults physically located inside state lines. Each portal runs a geolocation check on your phone or browser and requires a government ID to open an account before any purchase can be completed.
The second legal channel is a licensed courier. Companies such as Jackpocket, Lotto.com, and theLotter Texas do not technically sell the slip themselves, they accept your order, dispatch a clerk to a partner retailer, physically buy the entry on your behalf, scan the barcode back to your account, and store the paper original in a bonded vault. Courier coverage in 2026 extends to Texas, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio, Oregon, Montana, Massachusetts (pilot), and a growing list of additional jurisdictions; the Jackpocket app shows live state availability before you register.
What to avoid
Never wire money to an offshore website that claims to sell U.S. lottery slips internationally, those operators are unlicensed resellers or outright scams, and winnings cannot be legally paid out through them. Ignore social-media messages telling you to buy an entry for someone else in exchange for a cut, and avoid any “agent” service not listed on an official state lottery’s courier registry. Legitimate couriers publish their state licensing numbers on their own homepage.
States That Do Not Sell Powerball Tickets
Five U.S. states sit out the game entirely and do not sell Powerball tickets: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Alabama and Utah decline for religious and constitutional reasons, Hawaii and Alaska lack any state lottery infrastructure, and Nevada’s casino industry has historically lobbied against a state lottery. Residents of those five states legally cross a border, many Nevadans drive to the California line at Primm or to Mesquite near Arizona, Alabamans head to Florida or Georgia, and Utahns drive into Idaho, Wyoming, or Arizona, to buy a slip at the nearest licensed retailer just over the state line.
Out-of-state purchases are legal under MUSL rules as long as you physically stand at a licensed terminal in a participating jurisdiction. Your winning slip is redeemed at a state lottery office inside the state where it was bought, regardless of where you live, and taxes are withheld under that state’s rules. Save the paper receipt in a fireproof spot until the drawing has been verified and any prize has been claimed in person or by mail.
Powerball Ticket Cutoff Times and Draw Schedule
Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern. Sales cutoffs for Powerball tickets are set by each state, typically 59 to 119 minutes before the draw, in California and Texas the cutoff for tickets is 7:00 p.m. local, in New York it is 10:00 p.m. Eastern, and in most Midwestern states it is 9:00 p.m. local. Once the cutoff passes, the terminal will only print tickets for the next drawing rather than the imminent one.
Each play costs $2, with an optional $1 Power Play multiplier and a $1 Double Play add-on in participating states. You can buy tickets for up to 26 consecutive draws in a single multi-draw entry at most retailers, which locks in your numbers and saves trips. Always inspect the printed tickets before leaving the counter; once you walk away, a reprint is not possible and the paper is a bearer instrument, whoever holds the signed tickets can claim any prize they win.
Claiming Winnings and Anonymity Rules
Prizes up to $600 are paid at any retailer terminal in the state where the slip was purchased. Amounts between $600 and roughly $50,000 are claimed at a regional lottery office or by mail, and jackpot-level prizes must be claimed in person at the state lottery headquarters with the original Powerball tickets in hand. Federal tax withholding of 24% applies to prizes over $5,000, plus state income tax where applicable; seven states (including Florida and Texas) levy no state tax on lottery winnings.
Anonymous winner protection is available in Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas (prizes over $1 million), Arizona (first 90 days), Georgia (prizes over $250,000), Illinois (prizes over $250,000), Mississippi, Minnesota, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Everywhere else, the winner’s name and hometown become public record once claimed, though many winners form a legal trust to accept the prize on their behalf and keep personal details off the front page.
Play Responsibly
Powerball is entertainment, not an investment. The advertised odds of a single Powerball jackpot win are 1 in 292,201,338, and the overall odds of any tickets winning any prize tier are roughly 1 in 24.9. Set a household spending limit before you buy Powerball tickets, never chase losses, and never borrow money to buy tickets. If gambling stops feeling fun, call the National Council on Problem Gambling’s confidential helpline at 1-800-522-4700 (or text 1-800-GAMBLER), the service is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day in English and Spanish. Most state lotteries also offer a voluntary self-exclusion program that blocks your ID from buying tickets for a period you choose.
For other retailer-sourced items covered on this site, see our guides to Disneyland tickets, Visa gift cards, money orders, and savings bonds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy Powerball tickets with a credit card?
Policy varies by state and retailer. Most convenience stores and grocery chains accept only cash or debit, because state lottery regulations in places like New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Nebraska prohibit credit-card purchases. A handful of states, Kansas, Kentucky, and Illinois among them, permit credit, but individual retailers can still opt out.
Can I buy a Powerball ticket in one state and claim it in another?
No. The slip must be redeemed in the state where it was sold. You can travel to that state to collect, or mail lower-tier prizes to the lottery office, but the prize pool is administered by the issuing jurisdiction.
How old do I have to be to buy Powerball tickets?
The minimum age is 18 in most jurisdictions, 19 in Nebraska, and 21 in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Photo ID is required whenever a retailer asks.
Are Jackpocket tickets real Powerball tickets?
Yes. Jackpocket is a licensed courier regulated in each operating state; a clerk physically buys the paper slip at a partner retailer, uploads a scan to your account, and stores the original. If you win, the courier notifies you and releases the ticket for claim.
What time do Powerball ticket sales end on draw days?
Cutoffs are state-specific, usually 59 to 119 minutes before the 10:59 p.m. Eastern draw. Check your state lottery’s homepage the morning of a draw or ask the clerk; missing the cutoff rolls your entry to the next drawing.