Lotto sales jump after big wins

New World West End staff Mawai Tauri and Gemma Harvey celebrating their sale of a $500,000 Lotto win from Saturday's draw. Photo / Stephen Parker

Rotorua Lotto outlets say they're seeing an increase in sales and new players from the recent windfalls.

It has been just over a week since one Rotorua man won more than $24 million in a Powerball draw and the luck continued for the city when a $500,000 first division ticket from Saturday's draw was sold at New World West End. New Zealand Lotto said yesterday, the latest win remained unclaimed.

Paper Plus Tutanekai Street owner Kirsty Evans said they had seen a 10 to 15 per cent increase in sales last week compared to a regular post-jackpot period.

"We've certainly seen more people, there's been new Lotto players and people returning who had given up and thought, 'Oh it could never happen to me'," Ms Evans said.

"With the big win coming to Rotorua it has definitely generated a buzz," she said.

Springfield Superette owner Rajmesh Kumar, who sold the $24 million ticket, said he's also seen a steady growth in casual sales. "We've seen an upsurge, we've also seen more people coming to play scratchies as well," he said. "Even now people are coming over and looking at the screen in despair, they want to know how to play, how to get the Powerball, you have to explain to get Powerball you have to play Lotto.

"The only thing business is quiet, we've seen an up on the Lotto side, that's the time of the year school holidays have started, winter is generally a quieter time."

Mr Kumar said the Lotto winner and his family were still regulars in the shop and had found it difficult to break a 17-year habit of buying a weekly Lotto ticket.

"The whole family are still coming here. They're just laying back, they came to play Lotto here on Saturday, I think he was hoping he was going to strike it twice. Previously I think in Wellington someone won it two times in a row."

The New World West End Lotto team was celebrating the first division win. A ticket sold in New Plymouth also won $500,000.

"It's awesome, it helps boost our sales for the store with people buying Lotto here," New World Lotto head of department Mawai Tauri said.

"On Sunday, everyone was coming in saying, 'I've got the winning ticket'."

Problem Gambling Foundation acting chief executive Graham Aitken said while they didn't consider Lotto tickets as dangerous as pokies they still advised players to spend within their means.

"With Lotto tickets you don't particularly see immediate results.

"It's not like scratchie tickets, because people keep on buying them when they're losing.

"With Lotto you don't really race to buy another ticket straight away, that competitiveness doesn't occur, and that's the danger of any type of gambling, people get hooked," Mr Aitken said.

"Lotto tickets are nothing as dangerous as popping into the pub and playing the pokies.

"We do say 'Don't spend what you can't afford' and there are counsellors available to help on our hotline 0800 664 262."