Powerball is the multi-state lottery game coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a nonprofit consortium of member lotteries. The game is sold in 45 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with drawings held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. [1]
Design and History
Powerball’s predecessor, Lotto*America, began in 1988. The game and name were changed to Powerball on April 19, 1992, with its first drawing held April 22 of that year. [2]
The current Powerball wordmark is registered as a trademark by the Multi-State Lottery Association. The mark consists of the letters “P,” “O,” “W,” “E” and “R,” each within an empty circle and displayed horizontally, with the word “BALL” inside a filled-in circle situated to the right of the letter “R.” [3] This horizontal lockup was filed in November 2021 and registered on May 30, 2023. [4]
A separate trademark registration, filed in March 2019, describes a vertical arrangement of the same elements: the letters “P,” “O,” “W,” “E” and “R” each within an empty circle, displayed vertically, with the word “BALL” inside a filled-in circle situated below the letter “R.” [5] An additional filing from 2024 describes a vertical arrangement of six circles enclosed within an exterior outline, with the top five circles each containing one letter of “POWER” and the bottom circle containing “BALL.” [6]
Official brand guidelines for participating lotteries specify that the logo should not be rotated, flipped, distorted, or rebuilt with a different font, and that only approved logo files may be used. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The trademark descriptions document the core visual concept: the word “POWER” is split into individual letters, each enclosed in its own empty circle, while “BALL” sits inside a filled-in circle. [3] This arrangement visually echoes the game’s two-drum format, in which players select five white-ball numbers and one red Powerball number. [1]
Typography and Design
Official brand guidelines instruct that the font within the logo must not be changed or rebuilt, and that the logo should not be placed on unapproved background colors without sufficient contrast. [7] The guidelines also specify a minimum size of 75px at 72dpi for legibility. [7]
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