Consumer NZ warns Instant Kiwi sales could mislead after top prizes won

By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ

A consumer watchdog is concerned shops selling Instant Kiwi tickets after the top prizes have been won could be misleading.

In December 2024, Lotto changed its policy to require players to scan a QR code at the counter, check the Lotto app, or ask shop staff to find out whether big prize money was still available for in-store Instant Kiwi games.

Previously, Instant Kiwi tickets were withdrawn from sale in-store after the top prizes in a game were gone.

Online Instant Kiwi games would remain unchanged.

Lotto head of corporate communications Will Hine told RNZ Instant Kiwi tickets would generally be on sale until all the top prizes were claimed, but tickets may continue to be sold if other mid-tier prizes were available.

He said the new rules would benefit players, giving them more opportunity to win smaller prizes and reduce ticket waste.

“Importantly, the overall prize pool of money returned to players is not changing.

“We’ve implemented these changes with a view to reducing the commercial and environmental cost incurred when we need to withdraw tickets early in the life cycle of a game due to all top prizes being claimed.

“Because 100% of our profits go to the Lottery Grants Board, every reduction in our costs results in increased returns to the community.”

He said the new policy was made clear to customers in-store and on their website.

“Retail staff can print a report showing the top prizes remaining for customers, and stores are also proactively updated about the sale of top prizes through messages we send to their sales terminals and a newsletter.

“Customers are also notified with clear information on tickets and marketing materials that top prizes may not be available at time of purchase.”

But a Consumer New Zealand spokesperson said they were concerned about people having to investigate whether they had a chance of winning the large sums advertised.

“We think it’s potentially misleading to advertise, for example, ‘top prizes of $20,000’ on Instant Kiwi ‘scratch tickets’ when those prizes are no longer available.

“Consumers shouldn’t need to go searching for the fine print or take steps to correct a misleading impression (like ask retailers what prizes remain, or scan a QR code).

“People need to be able to trust the main message in any advertisement.”

In response to Consumer New Zealand’s concerns, Hine said they took any feedback into consideration.

“We do regularly review and refresh our marketing materials to ensure they’re hitting the mark and will take on board feedback about how we could make our messaging clearer.”

He emphasised that people could find information about what prizes remained in-store and online.

Lotto said as of Monday, 17 out of our 18 Instant Kiwi tickets on sale still had all the top prizes up for grabs.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.