Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Kristin Macfarlane: New Zealand Lotto's MyLotto delays kept my dream alive

Kristin Macfarlane
By Kristin Macfarlane
Bay of Plenty Times·
18 Aug, 2020 04:24 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Ten people won a share of $50 million on Saturday. Photo / File

Ten people won a share of $50 million on Saturday. Photo / File

COMMENT:

When I found out a winning Lotto ticket was sold in Tauranga I immediately started thinking about the types of property I would invest my winnings in.

I wasn't even upset I'd be sharing "my $50 million" with nine others and actually thought it was better the jackpot was being spread out. I mean, having an extra more than $5 million each seemed a fair cash boost.

So, I attempted to confirm the ticket I had bought online the day before was one of the lucky ones in Saturday night's draw but the website had crashed and it's "opening hours" kept changing.

Apparently plenty of others across New Zealand had the same idea. I don't buy Lotto tickets regularly but when the jackpot increases so does my FOMO (fear of missing out) meter, and Saturday night's mammoth $50 million must-win draw was enough to pique interest in buying a ticket.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I know my chances are slim and don't legitimately think I will actually win the big prize but it's fun to start spending my winnings in my head.

My cousin and I even agreed to give each other $1m if one of us won the $50m.

Kiwis, it seems, didn't want to miss the opportunity to be in to win either as New Zealand Lotto confirmed they had sold the most tickets yet for Saturday night's draw - about half online - causing major disruptions in the processing of the tickets.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They've since revealed an upgrade to their MyLotto website and app will be ready by early 2021. They also apologised for the massive delays people faced to check their tickets online.

Unnecessary apology if you ask me.

Discover more

Big wins for Bay Lotto players

26 Jul 01:00 AM

Comment: The crippling of an industry has a scary flow-on effect

26 Aug 12:22 AM

Tauranga Lotto player wins $250,000

01 Aug 10:35 PM

Letters to the editor: Why not share the total Lotto prize money every week?

08 Aug 03:00 AM

Some may have been frustrated at the delay, but I was all for it because it meant there'd be a delay to learn there actually wouldn't be an extra casual $5m added to my bank account any time soon.

It meant I could continue to spend my virtual winnings in my head because, in reality, my budget is just a tad (a lot) smaller.

Overnight Monday I was able to check my ticket to confirm the inevitable: I was a winner. Of two extra tickets, that is, which means I guess my Lotto playing continues this week.

Once those are gone though, it won't be until the next big jackpot that I suck myself into playing because my FOMO will get the better of me. And I'm okay with that ... and I'm okay with a delay in finding out the results.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

live
Bay of Plenty Times

Fibre outage top of South Island, Tasman residents evacuating, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds

02 Jul 08:07 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 06:06 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Bike racks back for Rotorua buses, Tauranga's a month away

02 Jul 11:55 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Fibre outage top of South Island, Tasman residents evacuating, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds
live

Fibre outage top of South Island, Tasman residents evacuating, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds

02 Jul 08:07 PM

Rain started falling at the top of the country before dawn.

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 06:06 PM
Bike racks back for Rotorua buses, Tauranga's a month away

Bike racks back for Rotorua buses, Tauranga's a month away

02 Jul 11:55 AM
NZ e-bike brand shines at Eurobike global showcase

NZ e-bike brand shines at Eurobike global showcase

02 Jul 03:13 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP