Most mistakes in checking a ticket come from reading the wrong drawing, skipping the bonus ball or trusting a page that hasn't updated. This guide covers where to look, how to read Powerball and Mega Millions results, how to tell whether a jackpot was won, and how to check a state game.
Where to find today's winning numbers
You have two kinds of source. Results sites, including this one, put many games in one place. Our homepage shows the latest Powerball and Mega Millions numbers and links to every state we cover. Each game also has its own page with recent draws, such as Powerball and Mega Millions. Our numbers come from an automated results feed that we check for new draws every two minutes, so they usually appear shortly after the lottery posts them.
The official sources are your state lottery's website and app, powerball.com and megamillions.com. Prizes are paid against the official drawing record, so if you think you've won, confirm there. Most state lottery apps and in-store ticket checkers will also scan your ticket and tell you whether it won.
Powerball and Mega Millions draw schedules
Reading the wrong date is the most common reason people think they've lost when they haven't, or the reverse. Your ticket is printed with the draw date it's for.
Powerball is drawn Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Florida Lottery's draw studio in Tallahassee, according to Powerball. That's 9:59 p.m. Central, 8:59 p.m. Mountain and 7:59 p.m. Pacific. A play costs $2, and the jackpot odds are 1 in 292,201,338.
Mega Millions is drawn Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET. Since April 2025 a play costs $5 with a multiplier included, and the official jackpot odds are 1 in 290,472,336.
Ticket sales stop before each drawing, at a time set by each state; our guide to when lottery sales stop has examples. A ticket bought after the cutoff is for the next drawing. More detail on timing is in what time the Powerball drawing is and what time the Mega Millions drawing is.
How to read the winning numbers
Both national games draw five white balls and one separate ball: the red Powerball, or the gold Mega Ball. Work through each line on your ticket like this:
- Check that the draw date on the ticket matches the result you're reading.
- Compare your five main numbers with the five white balls. Order doesn't matter.
- Compare your Powerball or Mega Ball with the one drawn. It's matched separately, so a 7 in your main numbers doesn't count toward a 7 Powerball.
- Check the multiplier. Powerball's Power Play is an optional $1 add-on that applies only if you bought it. Every Mega Millions ticket now carries its own multiplier of 2x to 10x, printed on the ticket. Both multiply non-jackpot prizes only (see Power Play explained and what happened to the Megaplier).
Matching only the Powerball or only the Mega Ball still wins a prize, so check every line before you throw a ticket away. The full prize tables are on our Powerball and Mega Millions ways-to-win pages.
Was the jackpot won or did it roll over?
The official results list the states where any jackpot-winning tickets were sold, or show that nobody matched every number. There's also a quick shortcut: if the advertised jackpot for the next drawing goes up, nobody won. If it drops back to the starting amount, somebody did.
The jackpot history pages for Powerball and Mega Millions show every rollover and reset. For the biggest recent wins, see who won the biggest jackpots.
Checking state lottery games
Every state also runs its own draw games, such as Pick 3, Pick 4, Cash 5 and state Lotto games, and several states share regional games such as Lotto America and Millionaire for Life, which replaced Lucky for Life and Cash4Life after their final drawings in February 2026. Many daily games draw twice a day or more, so check the drawing time as well as the date. A ticket for the midday Pick 3 won't match the evening numbers.
To check a state game here, pick your state from the homepage or go straight to its page, for example the Florida, Texas or California results pages. Each game shows its latest numbers alongside its draw days. If you're curious which numbers have come up most often, our most common lottery numbers article looks at that, though past draws don't change the odds of the next one.
Why confirm with the official source?
Results sites can show stale pages, and a feed can occasionally carry an error. Scam sites and messages also copy real results to make fake "you've won" notices look believable; our guide to lottery scams covers the common ones. Confirm with the state lottery or the national game's site before you sign anything or share personal information, and remember that a real lottery never asks you to pay a fee to receive a prize.
What to do if you win
Sign the back of the ticket, keep it somewhere safe and don't post it online. Under the IRS Form W-2G instructions, the lottery withholds 24% federal tax when a prize minus the wager is more than $5,000, and 30% is generally withheld for nonresident aliens. The top federal rate is 37%, so large winners often owe more at tax time, and most states add their own tax. Our guides to taxes on big wins, lump sum vs annuity and claiming a prize step by step cover what comes next. The minimum age to play is 18 in most states and higher in a few; see our age requirements guide.
Frequently asked questions
What days are Powerball and Mega Millions drawn?
Powerball is drawn Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Mega Millions is drawn Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET. Ticket sales close before each drawing at a time set by each state.
How can you tell if a lottery jackpot was won or rolled over?
The official results list the states where jackpot-winning tickets were sold. As a shortcut, if the next drawing's advertised jackpot goes up, nobody won; if it resets to the starting amount, someone did.
Where can you check today's US lottery winning numbers?
Results sites such as our homepage show Powerball, Mega Millions and state games in one place. Before claiming a prize, confirm the numbers with your state lottery, powerball.com or megamillions.com.
Do the lottery numbers have to be in order to win?
No. In Powerball and Mega Millions the five main numbers can match in any order. The Powerball or Mega Ball is matched separately against its own drawn ball.
Does matching just the Powerball or Mega Ball win anything?
Yes. Matching only the Powerball or only the Mega Ball wins the lowest prize tier, so check every line on your ticket.
If gambling stops being fun, the national problem gambling helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET.
Sources: powerball.com drawing and prize information; megamillions.com how-to-play page; IRS Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754.
