Lotto in NZ

A DigitalNZ Story by squiggle_top

The first Lotto draw was televised on 01 August 1987.

Lotto, gambling, lottery, powerball

Lotto arrives in New Zealand 

  • Lotto goes on sale for the first time on 22 July 1987, ahead of the first draw in August 
  • First TV broadcast was on 01 August 1987
  • Lotto Strike was introduced in April 1993
  • Lotto Powerball was introduced in February 2001 
  • Lotto Big Wednesday was introduced in October 2005
  • Online sales, via My Lotto, were introduced in May 2008

Source: Lotto New Zealand, Wikipedia [retrieved 01 June 2023] 

Image: Lotto - First Broadcast (1 August 1987)

1987

The winning numbers were 4, 29, 16, 40, 8 and 32, with bonus number 30. The prize pool was just over $1,000,000NZD.

Lotto - First Broadcast (1 August 1987)

NZ On Screen

1987

Lotto was first broadcast on 1 August 1987 from Auckland. The live draw was hosted by Doug Harvey and Ann Wilson.

Lotto

NZ On Screen

Image: Lotto's Winning Wheel

2011

A new opportunity was added to the live draw to spin the "Winning Wheel" for an extra prize.

Lotto's Winning Wheel

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

There's buckets of money to be won! 

Moving with the times - being able to buy tickets online 

Image: Lotto Sales Online

2008

Instead of having to buy a physical ticket, the public could now buy tickets online.

Lotto Sales Online

Radio New Zealand

What are the odds? 

It pays to always check your tickets

This DigitalNZ story was updated in July 2025.