What Lotto survey reveals about Gisborne’s future Lotto winners

More than three-quarters of surveyed Gisborne Lotto players would "take the whole crew" on a holiday, while nearly a third would stick with their job. Photo / NZME

A national survey of over 30,000 Lotto players revealed how Gisborne players would handle a win differently from other parts of the country and where they fell in line with national trends.

Gisborne residents were among the most likely to take a big group on holiday with them and the most likely to stick with their job rather than chase their passion after a Lotto win.

The Lotto survey posed 10 different “Lotto dilemmas” about what players would do if they won big.

There were 32,799 respondents, of which 271 were surveyed in Gisborne.

Just over three-quarters of those in Gisborne said they would take a big crew away on holiday.

The question “Tickets for two or take the whole crew?” saw 77% of Gisborne respondents answer “take the whole crew”, the highest rate in the country.

The national average was 70% choosing to take the whole crew.

In Gisborne, 30% of respondents said they would choose to stick with their job rather than follow their passion if they won Lotto, again the highest rate in the country.

The national average was 22% of respondents choosing to stick with their job.

Ninety-eight per cent of respondents in Gisborne answered “Family first” when asked “Spoil friends or family first?”.

This was once again the highest percentage in the country, but not too far off the national average of 97% in favour of family.

Quotes from Gisborne residents about what they’d do if they won included “Have a big rage” and “Jump for joy and then help family and friends - share the love with those most deserving”.

Lotto NZ head of corporate communications Will Hine said it was “fascinating” to get a snapshot of how New Zealanders imagine they would react to a life-changing win and what they would prioritise.

“A big part of buying a Lotto ticket is dreaming about the ways you’d spend your winnings. This survey provides an intriguing look at where those dreams line up and where they differ,” Hine said.

“While there are some things nearly all winners agree they’d spend money on, differences have emerged at a regional level around things like heading overseas or staying put.”

Of the broad national trends, 94% of respondents declared they would continue to call Aotearoa home, 97% were ready to help their relatives out, and 95% predicted they would splurge on their dream set of wheels.

A national average of 19% would share the news.

“It was great to see that 2528 people mentioned they would help others, while references to charity showed up 1290 times.”

Gisborne’s last first division winning ticket was sold at Pak’nSave Gisborne in September last year.

The $1 million prize was split six ways with players across the country, netting the lucky Gisborne winner $166,667.