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

Editorial: Lotto mania - as bad as pokies

Amy Wiggins
Amy Wiggins
Education reporter, NZ Herald.·Northern Advocate·
11 Jul, 2016 04:30 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
More than 2.7 million tickets entered into Saturday's draw for a chance to win $40 million.

More than 2.7 million tickets entered into Saturday's draw for a chance to win $40 million.

With $40 million up for grabs, Lotto was a major topic of conversation last week but it made me wonder how it is any different from pokies.

I'm not a Lotto fan. I can't bring myself to spend $15 or more on a ticket which will probably get me nothing.

I grudgingly put a few dollars into an office ticket once but that was my sole foray into Lotto.

I was gobsmacked to read there were more than 2.7 million tickets entered into Saturday's draw and at the busiest point on Saturday Lotto outlets were selling more than 3000 tickets a minute. Lotto sales for the week were just under $60 million, with Saturday's draw accounting for $40 million of that.

Those figures seem crazy to me considering there are fewer than five million people in New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Three lucky punters won $13 million and 50 or so others took home a decent amount but most people will have walked away with nothing. And I wonder how much those winners have spent buying tickets throughout their lives?

Most regular players will spend thousands on Lotto over the course of their lives and win only a few bucks here and there.

One New Zealand player spent $10,000 on Lotto tickets ahead of the weekend's draw - to me that is insane.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I can think of better ways to spend that money. Or if you want to make more why not put it in the bank where you are almost guaranteed to come out better off.

Lotto is gambling - just a more socially acceptable form of it. In essence it is no different from playing pokies yet there is a huge stigma around pokies (and rightly so, I say). Why are we so accepting of Lotto?

Yes, Lotto profits do go back to the community but there are bound to be Lotto players who are spending money they should be using to pay off debts or feed the family.

If you can afford to pay the bills, put food on the table and heat your house, then it's up to you what you do with any leftover money.

Lotto tickets would not be my suggestion, though - how about putting it away for retirement or even donating some to a charity?

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Man dies in Ōtorohanga floodwaters, more wild weather on the way

14 Feb 01:02 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Andy Belcher: Photographer who said ‘Yes’ to life

13 Feb 11:00 PM
Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

'Painful recovery': Mount businesses call for urgent financial help

13 Feb 05:00 PM

Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Man dies in Ōtorohanga floodwaters, more wild weather on the way
Bay of Plenty Times

Man dies in Ōtorohanga floodwaters, more wild weather on the way

Orange heavy rain warnings are in force for Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.

14 Feb 01:02 AM
Andy Belcher: Photographer who said ‘Yes’ to life
Bay of Plenty Times

Andy Belcher: Photographer who said ‘Yes’ to life

13 Feb 11:00 PM
Premium
Premium
'Painful recovery': Mount businesses call for urgent financial help
Bay of Plenty Times

'Painful recovery': Mount businesses call for urgent financial help

13 Feb 05:00 PM


Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk
Sponsored

Cyber crime in 2025: Increased specialisation, increased collaboration, increased risk

09 Feb 09:12 PM
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
  • NZME Digital Performance Marketing
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2026 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP