Winning the Powerball jackpot will become even more difficult as the multistate lottery is adding to the pool of numbers players pick from, the Post-Standard reported. At the same time, taking home smaller amounts will become more likely.

The changes are due to new rules that lower the percentage of money that goes to the top prize from 68 percent to 64 percent but increase that going to smaller rewards, the Journal News explained. They are scheduled to take effect on Oct. 7.

The odds of winning the jackpot will rise to 1 in 292,201,338, up from the current 1 in 175,223,510. But the likelihood of winning $4 will improve from 1 in 111 to 1 in 92. Overall, the chances of winning any prize will improve from from about 1 in 32 to 1 in 25.

The lottery -- which is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- hopes to boost jackpots in an effort to counter a slump in sales that have affected Powerball since 2013, when the last huge payout took place.

"Without these rules changes, the (New York Lottery) Division would need to remove the Powerball game from its portfolio of offerings and aid to education would be negatively affected," the state Gaming Commission said in a memo to board members.

Meanwhile, New York's lottery is "focused on developing and promoting non-jackpot driven games to reduce future dependence on more mature jackpot games and multistate jackpot games," the member of the nonprofit Multi-State Lottery Association added.

Practically speaking, Powerball players will need to get used to a new system of lucky numbers to choose from. Currently, they pick from two fields of numbers, with 59 numbers in the first field and 35 in the second. Starting Oct. 7, they will see 69 numbers in the first field and 26 in the second, the Consumerist detailed.