Lotto loot: $35m Powerball jackpot up for grabs on Saturday

A massive jackpot of $35 million could be yours this Saturday after Wednesday night's big Lotto prize went unclaimed.

Five lucky players split $1m for First Division on Wednesday - but no one clinched the $30m Powerball prize which has surged to $35m this weekend.

The numbers were: 25, 35, 12, 31, 24, 16, the bonus ball was 1, and Powerball was 9.

Marie Winfield, head of communications and corporate social responsibility at Lotto NZ, said the excitement continued to grow with the rising jackpot.

"It's a life-changing amount and if a single player is lucky enough to win the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night, it will be the second largest prize ever won in New Zealand."

Two players won Strike, pocketing $300,000 each, buying their tickets from Kwiki Mart Kelston and Glen Eden Four Square in Auckland.

Five lucky winners from Auckland, Waiuku, Gisborne, Porirua and Mosgiel are all $200,000 richer after tonight's draw.

The tickets were sold at Pak N Save Glen Innes, Auckland, New World Waiuku, Pak N Save Gisborne, Countdown Porirua and Monte Carlo Milkbar in Mosgiel.

Earlier, heavy traffic to the My Lotto website just before tonight's draw caused trouble for punters checking in to see if they'd struck gold.

A banner on the My Lotto website warned of potential problems accessing the site.

"We're sorry – due to the high jackpot we have more visitors to our website than normal. If you have trouble accessing the site, please try again later," a message on the website said.

New Zealand's biggest Lotto win was $44m, won by a young Hibiscus Coast couple in November 2016.

The next-highest was $33m won by a self-proclaimed "westie" in September 2013, and $33m won by a 10-person syndicate in Taupō in September 2017.

Lotto said South Island gamblers were on a winning streak in the first seven weeks of this year, winning five big prizes following on from a $17.1m Powerball win by a Twizel punter just after Christmas.

The Twizel winner waited several days before claiming his or her winnings and said in a statement last month: "This is going to change our lives - what an amazing way to start the year."

The big jackpots in recent years have lured New Zealanders into gambling much more on Lotto, pushing Lotto turnover up by 40 per cent from $894m in 2014-15 to $1.25 billion in 2017-18, the latest data available.

About 55 per cent of the amount gambled in 2018-19 was paid out in prizes. Taxes took a further 11 per cent, retailer commissions and operating costs took 6 per cent each, and 22 per cent ($261m) was distributed to community groups such as charities, sports and the arts.