Saturday's $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot drawing has been delayed after one of the lottery's jurisdictions needed more time to complete the "required pre-draw procedures," lottery officials announced.
The drawing was scheduled to take place at 11 p.m. EST Saturday night.
"Tonight, we have one participating lottery that needs additional time to complete required pre-draw procedures, which have been enacted to protect the security and integrity of the Powerball game," a release from Powerball read.
"Powerball game rules require that every single ticket sold nationwide be checked and verified against two different computer systems before the winning numbers are drawn. This is done to ensure that every ticket sold for the Powerball drawing has been accounted for and has an equal chance to win. Tonight, we have one jurisdiction that needs extra time to complete that pre-draw process," the statement continued.
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Powerball also told players to hold onto their tickets for Saturday's drawing, as the drawing will go forward once the required pre-draw procedures have been completed.
Powerball announced at around 1 a.m. EST Sunday morning that Saturday's drawing was still delayed due to the ticket verification issue in one of its jurisdictions, and that they hoped to complete the drawing "as soon as possible."
"Please note that these required pre-draw procedures are completed by every participating lottery prior to every Powerball drawing, and the time it takes to compete this process varies each night," the updated statement read, in part.
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"While a delay to tonight’s Powerball drawing is unfortunate, it means participating lotteries are following the game rules enacted to protect the integrity of the game. Every single ticket bought for Saturday’s Powerball drawing will be accounted for before the winning numbers are drawn," the statement continued.
Which jurisdiction needed more time for ticket verification and what caused the delay have both not been disclosed.
Saturday's scheduled drawing also comes with a $608.9 million cash option in lieu of the larger sum being paid out with 30 payments over 29 years.
A delay is not unprecedented for a Powerball drawing. A drawing in 2022 for a $1.9 billion jackpot was delayed until the next morning because a participating lottery had issues processing sales and play data.
Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are typically held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EST from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.
