New Zealand Lotteries Commission
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New Zealand Lotteries Commission (NZ Lotteries) is a Crown Entity that operates nation-wide lotteries in New Zealand. The oldest and most popular draw is the weekly Lotto which boasts a top prize of over a million dollars. There are two other draws, Big Wednesday and the twice-daily Keno, and a variety of scratchcards known as Instant Kiwi. Powerball and Lotto Strike are optional extras with every Lotto ticket, whilst the Winning Wheel game is free to all Lotto ticket purchasers.
NZ Lotteries has an unusual policy regarding minors. Instant Kiwi may only be played by persons 18 years of age or older, however no age restriction applies to the other games, such as Lotto. Most lotteries throughout the world apply a minimum age to all of their products.
Profits from the publicly regulated lotteries are passed to the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board to distribute as funding for recreation, arts, community projects and sports. Since its creation, NZ Lotteries has contributed $2 billion to the Lottery Grants Board. The New Zealand Film Commission is a major recipient of lottery money.
Contents |
[edit] History
The New Zealand Cabinet approved the creation of Lotto in February 1986, the necessary legislation passing through Parliament in April that year with a 47-20 majority. The New Zealand Lotteries Commission was established in June 1987 and the existing Golden Kiwi lottery came under the Commission's authority. The first Lotto draw, with a top prize of NZ$359,808, was held on 1 August 1987.
Over time the range of games were expanded, with Instant Kiwi scratchcards introduced in 1989 (replacing Golden Kiwi), Lotto Strike in 1993, Keno in 1994 and Powerball in 2001. The Winning Wheel was introduced in 2004 as a free "second chance" for Lotto players.
Lotto has previously been worked into two game shows, 'Telebingo' and 'Risk', both of which are explained in detail further down in the article. There were also "Extra Draws" on a few occasions in 1998.
[edit] Lotto
Lotto is the most popular of the games with a televised draw on TV2 at 8:00pm every Saturday night. The first tickets went on sale on 22 July 1987 and the first draw took place on 1 August 1987.
[edit] Main game
Introduced 1 August 1987 (Draw 1)
In the main game of Lotto, six balls and one bonus ball are drawn from a machine containing forty balls numbered 1 to 40. To win 1st Division (the top prize), one has to simply mark off all 6 numbers.
Players can buy Lotto tickets by selecting their own numbers using a coupon, or they can have the machine randomly generate their numbers by purchasing a Lotto Dip. Tickets cost $0.60 per line, with a minimum of 4 lines if playing with a coupon. The least expensive Lotto Dip is the Basic Lucky Dip, which costs $6.00
[edit] Prizes
| Division | Winning Numbers | Bonus Ball | Odds per line | Average Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 6 | No | 1 in 3,838,380 | $400,000 |
| 2nd | 5 | Yes | 1 in 639,730 | $19,384 |
| 3rd | 5 | No | 1 in 19,386 | $611 |
| 4th | 4 | Yes | 1 in 7,754 | $58 |
| 5th | 4 | No | 1 in 485 | $31 |
| 6th | 3 | Yes | 1 in 363 | $23 |
[edit] Changes since introduction
- Before August 2004, Lotto tickets cost $0.50 per line.
- In November 2002, some changes were made, all of which (except for the new-look logo and a separate division for 4 plus the bonus) were withdrawn in August 2004. They were:
- A Guaranteed Millionaire was drawn every week from the First Division winners (see below). This meant that Jackpots and Superdraws were out of the question for 21 months.
- A second bonus ball was drawn.
[edit] Extra draws
In 1998, there were several Extra Draws during the year. They worked as follows:
- Every Lotto ticket purchased for the draw entered the Extra Draw for no extra charge.
- You had to match ALL the numbers for a share in $1,000,000 cash.
- The amount was $1,500,000 on one occasion, which came from an unclaimed ticket sold in Blenheim in October 1997 (this was known as the Blenheim Bonus.)
[edit] Guaranteed millionaires
Between November 2002 and August 2004, a millionaire was drawn every week from all the Division One winners. Sometimes, more than one millionaire was drawn.
The rest of the Division One prizes were done as follows:
- If there were between 1 and 4 left, they won $250,000 each.
- If there were between 5 and 9 left, they won $150,000 each.
- If there were between 10 and 19 left, they won $100,000 each.
- If there were 20 or more left, they shared $300,000 between them.
However, if there was only one Division One winner to begin with, they automatically won the million, and if nobody matched all six numbers, which only happened once, the millionaire was selected from Division Two.
[edit] Lotto Strike
A Lotto player may, at a cost of $1, add to his ticket four Lotto Strike numbers. The objective is to match these numbers, in order, with the first four numbers of the Lotto draw.
| Division | Requirements | Odds | Average Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strike 4 | 4 Lotto Strike numbers matching the exact order of the first 4 Lotto numbers drawn | 1 in 2,193,360 | Up to $100,000 |
| Strike 3 | 3 Lotto Strike numbers match the exact order of any 3 of the first 4 Lotto numbers drawn | 1 in 15,232 | $800 |
| Strike 2 | 2 Lotto Strike numbers match the exact order of any 2 of the first 4 Lotto numbers drawn | 1 in 274 | $80 |
| Strike 1 | 1 Lotto Strike number matches 1 of the first 4 Lotto numbers drawn | 1 in 10.8 | A free line of Lotto Strike |
[edit] Powerball
Introduced February 2001
A line may be "enhanced" by the purchase, at $0.50 per line, of the Powerball number. A player of the Powerball game must purchase at least four Powerball numbers per ticket. The Powerball number, 1 to 10, is selected separately from the main Lotto draw. If matched on a line which has already won a prize in the main draw, the player receives, in addition to the main prize, the Powerball prize for the division which has been won. The game offers very large prizes, but at a tenth of the odds of winning an equivalent prize in the main draw. Powerball was altered in October 2007 to become drawn from 10 numbers, having originally been drawn from 8, and the minimum jackpot amount was increased from $1 million to $3 million. Powerball First Division can jackpot to a maximum of $30 million. Once this jackpot amount is reached, a "Must Be Won" week must be held in which, if First Division is not won, the First Division jackpot must be split amongst the winners of the next highest division for which there are winners.
[edit] Winning Wheel
Introduced August 2004
Every Lotto ticket has a 16-digit Winning Wheel number (e.g. 123-45678901-20XX), exactly the same as the ticket's serial number except for the last two digits, which are replaced by XX for security reasons. Every draw, a serial number is drawn at random. The winner is awarded an all expenses paid trip to the studio in Wellington where they will appear on the show and spin the eponymous wheel to determine their prize. The prizes available are cash prizes ranging from $100,000 to $1 million as well as cars, shopping sprees and a $500,000 house and land package.
Entry into the draw for the Winning Wheel is automatic for all Lotto tickets.
[edit] Big Wednesday
The Big Wednesday draw is televised on TV1 each Wednesday, at approximately 8:20pm. Offering substantial non-cash prizes, such as luxury cars, atop a significant cash prize (minimum value of $2 million) it is marketed as an opportunity to win 'the ultimate lifestyle.' 'Lines' are $1 each, with, like the main Lotto game, a minimum of 4 lines per ticket.
The mechanism of the draw is similar to Lotto, with players trying to correctly guess the 6 numbers drawn. However, the game has the added feature of a coin toss; along with the numbers, players must predict Heads or Tails. A player matching all 6 numbers will only win the jackpot if s/he correctly guesses the outcome of this. The odds on winning the jackpot are 1 in 16,290,120. However, if s/he doesn't match the coin toss, s/he will win Second Division, which consists of a cash prize.
As with Lotto, players may also have their numbers selected for them by the machine by purchasing a Big Wednesday Dip. The Basic Big Wednesday Dip costs $6.00. Players may opt to select either Heads, Tails or random Heads/Tails. A popular option is a Big Wednesday Dip with both Heads and Tails, which produces two tickets with the same numbers, one ticket with Heads on all line and one ticket with Tails on all lines, ensuring that if the player matches all the numbers, they win both First and Second Division.
The Second Chance Draw is similar to the Winning Wheel in the Lotto. A random serial number is selected for Big Wednesday tickets. Matching this will entitle the lucky ticket-holder to either a "major prize", such as a luxury car, or a "minor prize", such as $25,000, dependent on whether the player successfully predicted the outcome of the toss on his/her first line.
As with Powerball, Big Wednesday may jackpot until the total jackpot value reaches $30 million, in which event a Must Be Won draw will be held.
If there are multiple First Division winners for a Big Wednesday draw, the cash prize and value of non-cash prizes will be combined and divided among the winners. In some cases, at NZ Lotteries' discretion, the value of non-cash prizes may be paid by direct credit or cheque. For example, a winner under the age of 18 is ineligible to claim a boat or car prize in kind.
[edit] Keno
Following the format of the popular bingo hall game, Keno draws are made twice daily at 1pm and 6pm, and are televised on TV2 50 minutes after these times. Tickets cost between $1 and $100 per line, with a maximum prize of $1,000,000 available.
[edit] Retired games
[edit] Telebingo
Telebingo ran from February 1996 to June 2001. There were two components, a lottery and a game show. The original timeslot was on TV ONE at 8pm on a Wednesday, but later on in its run, it was moved around. In late 1999, Telebingo was also re-aired at 3:30pm the next day.
The hosts were Simon Barnett and Ingrid Mole.
[edit] Lottery
Between 34 and 75 numbers were drawn from 75. Viewers at home had to match the numbers on-screen with numbers on a mini bingo board. These could be purchased at $2 each for a minimum of 2 tickets. There were three divisions:
- Four Corners: If you got each of the three corner numbers (the other was just a tick) before 27 numbers had been called, you won Four Corners.
- Cross: If you got the eight numbers that made a diagonal cross before 34 numbers had been called, you won Cross.
- Bingo. The big one - they keep drawing numbers until a Bingo winner has been found. If there was one before 34 numbers had been called, they kept going until 34 numbers were called. The record was 37 Bingo winners.
If there were no winners in a division, the respective prize pool was carried over to the next division.
[edit] Game show
Three contestants appeared on the show. They started with $125 and a corner square, they earned $25 and another corner square for every question right and lost $25 (but not their corner square) for every question wrong. At the Cross round, they were given two squares as a head-start towards Cross. After Cross was earned, random squares were given with every correct answer until either a viewer or a contestant got Bingo. There were two possible outcomes as to the end:
- If a contestant got Bingo first, they kept going until a viewer gets Bingo, and then any contestants who got Bingo will come away with double their final total.
- If a viewer got Bingo first, it went to "Run For Your Money", in which the contesants had 60 seconds to get Bingo, and anyone who gets it will come away with double their final total.
The contestant with the most money then went to a memory board, where he or she had to reveal two matching squares to get a certain prize, and then he or she had the option of taking away the prizes or risking them for more the next week.
[edit] Risk
Risk ran from July 2001 to February 2002. Draw numbers started from where Telebingo numbers left off. The show was on TV ONE in a more consistent time slot, at 7:30pm on a Wednesday.
The show was hosted by Jon Bridges.
[edit] Lottery
25 numbers from 1 to 90 were drawn. The objective is to match one of the following:
- The 12 numbers in Game 'R'
- The 9 numbers in Game 'S'
- The 6 numbers in Game 'K'
- The 3 numbers in Game 'I'
All panels except Game 'R' had one or more $ signs which could be marked off immediately. A number could appear on two panels on a single ticket.
The game-board looked like this: (the $ signs are only there to show how many there were)
X X X - - $ - - X - - X - - - - X X X - - X - - X - X - - X - - X - - X - X - -
- X X X X - $ - X - - - X X - - - X $ - $ - - - - - - X X X - - X X X - X - $ -
Game 'R' jackpotted if not won.
There was a team color printed on each ticket. If that team won, then all tickets bearing that color went into a draw for a cash prize.
[edit] Game show
Three teams of two contestants (namely Red, Yellow, and Purple) were spotted $500 ($300 in the first few episodes) to begin the game with. Correct answers were worth $50, and incorrect answers were penalized by that amount. After two rounds, the team in third place was eliminated, and at the end of the last round, only one team prevailed.
[edit] History of on-line Lotto results
Lotto results were provided on-line by NZ Pages for the first time in December 1998.
[edit] MyLotto
On 26 May 2008 the Commission launched MyLotto, an online sales channel providing an alternative to the traditional retail outlet for players of Lotto, Big Wednesday and Keno. Instant Kiwi products are not available on MyLotto. Players must register to use the service, and add funds to their account via internet banking or credit card before purchasing tickets. There is a maximum spending limit of $150 a week or $300 a month; players can choose a lower spending limit if they wish, and can block themselves from participation in any of the games. MyLotto operates between 6.30 am and 11 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and between 6.30 am and midnight on Wednesday and Saturday. As with tickets purchased at retail outlets, players have the options of playing a Dip or selecting their own numbers. Additionally, players can save their favourite numbers for future use.
[edit] Records
- The largest ever prize won was NZ$19,054,243 ($18,816,031 from Powerball, $238,212 from Lotto) on 5 April 2006. The winning ticket was sold at the Pak'n Save supermarket in New Plymouth.
- The record for the most first division winners in one draw was set on 11 September 1993 (draw 320), when 38 people won first division. Each winner received $35,937. Mainly, this was due to the numbers for the draw being 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, and bonus 11.
- The record for luckiest Lotto outlet (in terms of number of First Division prizes) is shared by Coastlands Lotto in Paraparaumu, and Pak 'n' Save Riccarton in Christchurch.
