Hawke's Bay punters spent more than $7 million on Lotto tickets ahead of this year's $33 million Powerball draw, new figures show.
The Powerball jackpot run began on June 9 and ran for 16 weeks until it was won on September 28.
Figures released from Lotto New Zealand show more than $7 million was spent on Lotto tickets in Hawke's Bay over the 16-week run - almost $900,000 of which was spent in the final week.
Te Rangihaeta Orange Trust manager Annette Harris said problem gamblers usually tagged Lotto on to other forms of gambling like pokies and placing bets.
Lotto was seen as a lesser, more normal form of gambling.
"Because a lot of [Lotto shops] them are sited in the supermarket or close to ordinary shops, it's tended to be viewed as just another thing to get while you're out."
But people could end up spending a lot of money when they couldn't afford it, she said.
"They're buying hope. It's like throwing your money away."
Nationally, Kiwis spent more than $211.5 million on Lotto tickets in the 16 weeks and close to $28 million in the last week.
Lotto shop staff around the country had to cope with lines out the door as the jackpot hit new highs each week.
The windfall was eventually won by a west Auckland man, who became the largest ever individual Powerball winner when he claimed his prize.
Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand acting CEO Graham Aitken said playing Lotto met all the criteria for gambling.
"They're still putting money at risk and in this case you can't really have any influence over the outcome."
While the foundation didn't see many people who had problems with Lotto, it was still addictive, Mr Aitken said.
"Those people have got to a situation where they keep going back, even though they don't have the money to do it."
It sometimes functioned as a stepping stone to more harmful forms of gambling.
"Some of our counsellors ... they're quite bothered that there's a kick-on effect for some people, who find Lotto normalises the experience and thus try other [forms of gambling]."
Even so, about 80 per cent of New Zealanders bought a Lotto ticket every year, he said.
"You get up to quite a prize like this one, and all sorts of people start buying tickets and - worse still - they start buying bundles of them."
According to the Health Promotion Agency, New Zealanders lose about $2 billion on gambling each year - or $5.5 million every day. About half of this is lost on pokies.
Of the proceeds, 31 per cent goes to the Government as tax and 36 per cent is taken in profits.
The 2003 Gambling Act requires the remaining 33 per cent to be given away in the form of grants, but there's no guarantee the money will go back into the community it came from.
Lotto NZ corporate communications manager Emilia Mazur said Lotto existed to raise money for community benefits.
"In the 2012/13 year, over $200 million was transferred to the NZ Lottery Grants Board for redistribution to community groups and projects across New Zealand," she said.