25th Anniversary Promotion for NZ Lotto

A 25-year anniversary is a big even for anyone, and the New Zealand lottery wants to celebrate its quarter-century anniversary in style. This weekend, the NZ Lotto will be hosting an exciting event, giving away $7.5 million worth of cash prizes to some very lucky players.

As part of the promotion, the NZ Lotto is awarding players extra prizes. All tickets purchased between August 13th and August 25th will be entered into a special prize draw, in which several million-dollar prizes will be awarded.

“We believe it’s the biggest-ever promotion in New Zealand history, with a total of $8 million up for grabs,” says Wayne Pickup of NZ Lotto.

Three grand prizes worth $1 million will be paid out on August 25th. In addition, there will be another thousand winners, earning prizes between $2500 and $100 000. 25 instant prizes were also made available, awarding players as soon as they purchased their lottery tickets.

There is only one day left in the promotion, so don’t miss out on your chance to win big. Plenty of fantastic prizes are up for grabs, so your chances of winning are better than ever this week!

NZ Lotto Celebrates 25 Years

This week, the New Zealand Lotto celebrated its 25th anniversary. Over two decades worth of important milestones were commemorated, as the lottery announced its achievements since 1987. It is certainly an ideal model for a national lottery, a fact which is highlighted by its longevity.

The New Zealand Lottery was established in 1987. In its 25 years of existence, the lottery has generated billions of dollars in profits, winnings and charitable donations. The lottery has spawned several different games and has become the most popular form of gambling in the country; so, we predict that it has another good 25 years ahead of itself.

Since 1987, the New Zealand Lottery has awarded more than $6 billion in prizes to over 200 million winners. Over 5000 individuals cashed in tier-one top prizes and the company’s instant-lottery tickets have made millionaires out of nearly 100 lucky winners.

While the company has done well for itself over the years, it has also done good for the community. The New Zealand Lottery has donated over $3 billion of its profits to local charities and not-for-profit organizations. Health, education and social programs have benefited from the New Zealand Lottery since 1987, and the lottery is committed to bettering the local community.

Lottery Spending on the Rise

Across New Zealand lottery spending has been on the rise, thanks to the number of large jackpots that have been offered over the course of the past few months. According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, pokies spending may be down but lottery spending is way up.

The report cites research conducted by Roy Morgan which has found a 4% increase in lottery buyers over the course of one year. The statistics show that 56% of adults over the age of 18 bought lottery tickets in 2011 while just 52% bought lottery tickets the year before.

While the local lottery is considered to be less harmful than poker machines and other forms of casino gambling, the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand is concerned about the behaviour of lottery ticket buyers. While numbers are on the rise, the organization is not concerned about the population of lottery players; rather, they are focused on the number of players who purchase lottery tickets but cannot afford to do so.

The most growth for the local lottery has been seen when jackpots hit more than $15 million. It is at this point that lottery sales surge, as more individuals buy multiple tickets for their chance to win big.

Lottery Fraud Remanded

A woman who attempted to commit fraud with a stolen lottery ticket has been remanded this week. A Christchurch judge has requested that she return to court on April 27th, but in the meantime, she is out on bail.

The culprit is Ivy Marie Rolleston of Hoon Hay. She was formerly a lottery operator at a local BP, where she sold lottery tickets and cashed out small prizes. After years of taking on the position, it seems as though she gained enough confidence to believe that she would be able to pull off lottery fraud scheme.

She had attempted to have a third party cash out a lottery ticket that she – herself – had not purchased. Unfortunately for her, the plan did not go as planned, and she was caught by local authorities.

Rolleston is facing charges of attempting to dishonestly use a document in addition for four other accounts of theft. While this situation has not been seen very often across New Zealand, it has happened quite a few times around the world. Lotteries in Canada, Europe and the United States have enacted strict rules and regulations to ensure that lottery retailers cannot commit fraud – and it seems as though New Zealand may have to do the same.

What Do Lottery Winners Spend Their Money On?

A recent report in the Bay of Plenty Times covers the issue of lottery winners and how they choose to spend their money. While we all say that we would purchase new homes and cars, there are some people who have given the question a bit more thought – and a recent study examines what those individuals would purchase.

The study found some very interesting answers, with people choosing to live out obscure dreams with their potential winnings. For example, one person wanted to build a motor bike track in his backyard while another wanted to have a life-time supply of new bed linens every night. Some answers were even more obscure, as people would purchase castles and exotic reptiles.

However, when someone actually does win the lottery, their spending seems to be a bit more grounded. One recently interviewed lottery winner paid for an expensive fertility treatment, while another funding a gastric bypass operation. Some conquests were even simpler, such as buying a Rolex watch or a pair of Prada shoes.

So, what would you purchase if you won the lottery this week? Send us a comment or an email to let us know how you would spend your winnings.

$26 Million Winner Will Stay A Grocery Store Clerk

When someone wins a million-dollar jackpot prize, one of their first announcements is that they will quit their day job – but that is not the case for the most recent Powerball winner. 34-year-old Trevor from Waikato is a grocery store clerk, and he plans on staying in his position despite winning a $26 million lottery jackpot.

Trevor is this week’s winner of the Powerball jackpot, which has been climbing over the course of the past few weeks. As such, it is one of the biggest jackpots that the NZ Lottery has ever paid out. Despite winning this record-breaking lottery jackpot, Trevor does not want to make any changes to his current career.

“Everything will go on the way it is,” says Trevor. “It’s just a lot easier.”

He stated that he has recently completely a management course for his job. So, he is more interested in working towards a promotion at work rather than quitting his job completely. He has made a few small plans for his money, however; they include purchasing a new car and home as well as getting involved in motor sports.

Lotto Jackpot Up to $22 Million

The NZ Lotto Powerball jackpot has gone another week without being won by a lucky New Zealander. Fortunately, this means that the jackpot can continue to grow over the course of the coming weeks, making for some very exciting draws with high lottery sales. This week’s jackpot was $20 million, but since the prize was not won, it means that it will rise to $22 million for next week.

Large lottery jackpots mean great things all around. Players across the country are excited about the prospect of winning huge jackpot prizes, causing lottery sales to skyrocket. A recent report revealed that the biggest earnings for the NZ Lotto result when there is a multi-million dollars jackpot up for grabs, and this will certainly result in that situation taking place yet again.

The last time the Powerball was won was in December. One lucky player took home a jackpot prize of $5.5 million. Ever since then, the prize has gone unclaimed and the jackpot has just continued to rise. The last time a multi-million dollar jackpot was in April 2011, when $35 million was won. Two lucky players split the prize, and set a record for the NZ Lotto.

Five Auckland Players Take Home Lotto Prize

It is a fine day in Auckland today, as five lucky winners from the city have struck the huge jackpot offered by the NZ Lotto. What you would normally think is that all five players bought into a lottery pool; however, that’s not the case – each player has won a separate prize!

Two players in the City of Sails won $500 000 from the Lotto First Division while two Strike Four winners won $750 000. The final winner was a student from Auckland who took home to $1 million grand prize from the Winning Wheel.

Daniel is the first million-dollar winner for 2012, and still can’t believe he’s won the prize. He is a student from China, who has been studying English in Auckland for the past three years. He is into video games and soccer, and wants to study to become an electricians. He plans on using some of his winnings for his schooling.

There are even bigger prizes up for grabs next week, as the Lotto Powerball Jackpot will be up to $14 million. We anticipate there will be some very lucky wins for this draw, as players from across the vie for the chance to claim this impressive cash prize.

NZ Lotto Pays Out ‘Confusing’ $1 Million Win

The New Zealand Lotteries Commission has paid out what its winner calls a ‘confusing’ prize worth $1 million. According to the NZ Lotto website, a man from Manukau was under the impression that he had won a chance to win the $1 Million Wheel when his ticket showed the winning numbers. Fortunately for him, he was just a little confused, and actually won the entire $1 million prize!

On the weekend lottery draw during the week of January 7th, he picked his numbers as he normally would. After matching six numbers, he took his ticket to a lottery retailer, who told him that he had won $1 million. Possibly out of disbelief, possibly out of sheer excitement, the man misheard the clerk; he was under the impression that he would be going on to spin the $1 Million Winning Wheel on live television.

He called the NZ Lotteries Commission to confirm his prize, and did not believe the representative who told him that he had, indeed won the cash prize for $1 million. It wasn’t until the funds had been transferred to his account that he finally decided to go out and celebrate his win!

NZ Lotto Site Inspires South Australian Government

When the New Zealand government deemed it legal for local residents to play the lottery online, a domino effect occurred. Although it took some time to actually make a difference, the NZ Lotto website seems to have inspired change across the Australia.

According to recent reports, the South Australian government has stated that it is now legal for residents to take part in lottery games online. This means that the local lottery commission will offer residents a selection of online gambling games, allowing them to purchase lottery tickets and play scratch cards.

This seems to be a direct result of the New Zealand Lottery Commission launching its own online gambling website earlier this year. NZ residents can purchase tickets and play a wide range of lottery-related games, as well as take part in bingo and keno games.

The scope of gaming to be offered by the new SA lottery website has yet to be determined, but residents are already excited about the idea. This provides an additional outlet for gaming fans across the area, offering them a safe place to gamble online rather than playing at unregulated gambling websites.