Two split record $100m Powerball jackpot, but who are they?

A ticket sold in Sydney and another online to someone in Victoria were the only two to get a taste of the $100 million Powerball jackpot by correctly selecting 3, 13, 27, 31, 32, 33, 35 and the powerball 3.

Almost 3.5 million other players collected a return ranging from a division two prize of $122,000 down to ninth division's $10.55.

A $100m first division prize was already the largest Powerball jackpot in history with an Oz Lotto draw in 2012 reaching the mark.

But with that pool also shared, a Hervey Bay couple who won $70 million in 2016 remain the nation's largest individual prize winners.

The Lott said the Sydney entry was unregistered while the online entrant hadn't supplied complete contact details.

"While we are unable to confirm the win with either of our winners, we can guarantee that when they discover the news, their life is set to change when their bank balance balloons by a whopping $50 million," spokesman Matthew Hart said in a statement.

Newsagents across the nations had queues out the door on Thursday despite the odds of winning first prize being one in 134 million.

Australian Gambling Research Centre manager Rebecca Jenkinson said three factors were at play in luring people to play a lottery.

Humans have difficulty processing and understanding the minuscule odds of winning first prize, coming up a few numbers brings on the near-miss effect and we dream, she said.

"The reason we've seen queues out the door is we've all got that hope and it's nice to dream," Dr Jenkinson told AAP.

"We've seen people win before, we've heard people win before so it's the 'why not us?' at play."

Dr Jenkinson says about half of all Australians adults have taken part in an official lottery in the past year while about a third play at least monthly.

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Australian Associated Press