A brief history of Lotteries throughout the ages. Video / NZ Herald
Kiwis up and down the country are likely busy this morning planning dream holidays, new houses and a life of early retirement ahead of Lotto NZ’s must-win $50 million jackpot.
“We would like to thank customers in advance for their patience as we manage what we expect to be exceptional interest in the results of this huge draw,” Lotto NZ’s head of corporate communications Lucy Fullerton said.
It is only the third time the jackpot has reached the Must Be Won draw of $50m.
If claimed by a single ticket on Saturday night, it will be the largest prize ever won.
In a Must Be Won draw, if no one wins Powerball First Division (that means getting all seven numbers correct) the entire jackpot rolls down to the next Powerball division where there are winners.
If there is more than one winner in a Powerball prize division, the prize is split equally between them.
Expect queues
Big draws attract people who wouldn’t normally buy a ticket so high volumes of demand are expected online at MyLotto and at Lotto counters.
For Wednesday night, 52 per cent of tickets were purchased online and 48 per cent in-store. More than half the tickets were bought on the day.
Depending on demand, MyLotto customers will be put in a queue if they try to buy their ticket in the last hour before sales close (6.30pm to 7.30pm today) and again if they want to check their ticket after the 8pm draw.
“We have done a huge amount of preparation and MyLotto handled the volumes very well on Wednesday night so we are confident going into the draw,” Fullerton said.
“Our use of a virtual queue to manage traffic has been very important in ensuring a good experience once people log in to MyLotto, and so we will be using this again on Saturday night.”
Fullerton said there were customer service reps on standby to assist customers and retailers before the big draw.
“Even our CEO has been roped in to help answer customer queries, so he’ll be working hard on web chat tomorrow night,” she said yesterday.
Changes to online buying
With the expected rush of interest, Lotto NZ is changing the process for buying and checking tickets online at the MyLotto website.
People will go into a virtual queue if they’re trying to buy a ticket online between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday before purchases close, and the queue system will be used after the draw results are released.
The MyLotto site will also be closed for longer than usual, not opening until 10am on Sunday. This should allow enough time for the processing of the “extraordinarily high volume” of tickets, Lotto NZ said.
Lotto NZ has also said it will not reveal the locations or stores where the winning ticket or tickets were sold until Sunday morning. These details are usually released on Saturday night with the results.
Its communication about the draw itself would go ahead normally, including revealing the number of winning tickets and the amount won by each.
How the balls fall on Saturday night will determine if New Zealand gets its first $50 million Lotto winner.
What if you win?
If one ticket takes the $50m, Lotto NZ would aim to meet the winner in person as soon as possible, so they have support, guidance, and a great winning experience from the beginning.
“We would usually have this meeting before we pay the prize into the winner’s bank account, which we do within a few days of a claim being made and verified,” Fullerton said.
Advice from past big winners
The Hibiscus Coast couple who currently hold the top spot for winning New Zealand’s largest single prize have some words of advice for the potential winner.
After winning $44.06m in 2016 they said “eating and sleeping” to keep a clear head should be a top priority in the days following a win.
And they urged the winner or winners to be good with their newfound wealth.
“The best thing we did was get good financial advice. Make sure they’re on the same wavelength as you and go into the conversation with a good idea of what you want to do long term.”
