US Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.7 Billion

(Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images)

Your upcoming Powerball loss is DraftKings’ gain

As the Powerball jackpot has stretched to $1.8 billion, users are flooding into DraftKings’ Jackpocket lottery app.

9/5/25 12:52PM

Saturday will mark Powerball’s 42nd drawing since the last time someone hit the jackpot. The prize has ballooned to $1.8 billion, sending would-be winners rushing to scoop up tickets.

There will be an immense number of losers, but one surefire winner: DraftKings.

The gambling company, which owns the lottery courier app Jackpocket, told CNBC that ticket sales on its app have surged in the recent frenzy. DraftKings said Jackpocket’s sales skyrocketed 200% on Wednesday from the week prior, and then another 130% on Thursday.

Rules vary by location, but the app charges a service fee of about 14% when you deposit funds or purchase a ticket using the app. It’s available in 16 states.

The gambling giant told CNBC that 15 million Powerball tickets have been purchased on the app during the current Powerball run. Back-of-the-napkin math would put Jackpocket’s take at a few million, nothing eye-watering, but that jump in the app store may open it up to new users who could become habitual users.

When DraftKings announced its acquisition of the app in February 2024, it said it expected the deal to drive between $260 million and $340 million of revenue by fiscal year 2026, and between $350 million and $450 million by fiscal year 2028.

Max Knoblauch12/12/25

In less than three weeks, Disney’s “Zootopia 2” becomes the second billion-dollar film of 2025

The global film industry officially has its second billion-dollar film of the year, as Disney’s “Zootopia 2” surged past the $1 billion box office mark in just 17 days. The other billion-dollar film this year, the live-action “Lilo & Stitch,” was also made by Disney.

“Zootopia” was the fastest to reach 10 figures of any animated film. The animated hit, which had the highest-grossing global debut of the year over Thanksgiving weekend, has benefited from massive numbers in China.

Disney also logged two billion-dollar films last year with “Inside Out 2” and “Moana 2.” (The latter also came out over the Thanksgiving holiday.) The only other film to cross the mark in 2024 was “Deadpool and Wolverine,” which featured Disney’s IP.

Millie Giles

Aus-tracized

12/11/25

Would a social media ban see chronically online teens turn to AI chatbots?

As Australia enacts a world-first ban, a survey finds more US teens are using social media — and chatbots — daily.

Tom Jones

comeback singles

12/10/25

Only six of the top 20 songs of 2025 so far are from this year

Most of the biggest songs of 2025 aren’t from 2025.

Tom Jones12/5/25

Charlie Kirk’s Wikipedia page was the top English-language article on the site in 2025

The day after his assassination in September, Charlie Kirk’s Wikipedia page was viewed over 170 times per second, or almost 15 million times, according to figures from the Wikimedia Foundation.

Like with most other years, the top entries of the year reflected the fact that millions flock to the platform to learn more about political figures, films, and fatalities.

Though there’s been much talk about the impact of AI-generated search summaries and chatbots on Wikipedia — not least from the platform itself — it’s still clearly a major go-to resource for anyone looking to learn a little about a lot online, especially if this week’s year-end figures are anything to go by.