Today in History

1987 Lotto goes on sale for first time

Outlets opened to long queues, with the first division prize in the inaugural draw worth $360,000. In the first year Kiwis 'invested' nearly $249 million in the new lottery, which was based on a weekly draw of six numbers. 

Before the introduction of Lotto most gambling in New Zealand involved a visit to the TAB to place a bet on a horse or buying a Golden Kiwi ticket. By the early 2000s, 67% of the population was regularly playing Lotto. The live draw on television every Saturday night was attracting an audience of 400,000 New Zealanders.

Workmates and families formed syndicates to purchase weekly tickets. Close to a third of those buying tickets chose self-selected numbers rather than a computer-generated ‘lucky dip'. Half of each week's Lotto tickets are bought on a Saturday, with around 25% bought between 5.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m., when the draw closes.

By the middle of 2007 more than $3.75 billion had been paid out in Lotto prize money to 63.4 million winners. Other options such as Powerball and Strike have been added to the original Lotto concept over the years. By 2007, 345 people had won $1 million or more from Lotto alone. There have been 80 Powerball millionaires and 9 Strike millionaires. The largest combined Lotto and Powerball prize won by a single ticket was a little over $19 million, won in April 2008.

The gambling habits of New Zealanders also changed with the introduction of electronic gaming machines or ‘pokie machines' in 1988 and of casinos after 1989. The effect of these changes and the introduction of Lotto reduced the relative spending on horse-racing. In 1987 racing accounted for 85% of the total spent on gambling in this country. Despite the TAB moving into sports betting as well as racing by 2000, only 18% of the total spent on gambling was occurring through the TAB. Gaming machines were responsible for 35% of the total, casinos for 26% and the Lotteries Commission games (Lotto, Instant Kiwi, Daily Keno) for 21%.