Technical glitch hits Powerball draw – as jackpot surges to record $100 million

Millions of lottery entrants were left with an agonising wait for the results of last night’s $80 million Powerball draw after a technical glitch caused a delay.

There were no division one winners once the numbers finally came up, meaning the prize will jackpot to $100 million for the second time in less than six months.

Lottery officers put the delay down to the large volume of entries taking longer than usual to validate.

“Due to the large volume of entries from across Australia in tonight’s $80 million Powerball draw, the regular process of validating every entry has taken a little longer than usual,” The Lott posted online.

“We apologise for the delay.”

Powerball punters patiently waiting for the draw to air vented their frustrations on Twitter.

“This is a disgrace,” one wrote.

Another said: “Don’t think Australia has waited for anything with the enthusiasm they have waiting for tonight’s Powerball.”

Though there were no division one winners last night, a total of 2,467,864 prizes worth more than $44.1 million were won in divisions two to nine.

There were 15 division two winners, who will each take home a prize of $81,533.30.

It won’t get any easier for officials with up to one in three people expected to have an entry into next week’s draw.

The Powerball jackpot has now surged for the eighth consecutive week and is the equal largest prize in the game’s 23-year history.

The $100 million Powerball draw 1183 will take place on Thursday 17 January 2019.