Lotto NZ Tracks Down $500,000 Winner Who Had Lost Ticket
With prize claims only valid for 12 months and the clock ticking down, the Government-operated lottery looked for clues about how they could find their winner.
A Lotto winner who lost their paper ticket and was unaware they had won big has received their $500,000 First Division prize after Lotto NZ sought help from the player's bank to track them down.
The winning ticket was sold at Pak n Save Mt Albert in June last year but no winner came forward.
With prize claims only valid for 12 months and the clock ticking down, the Government-operated lottery looked for clues about how they could find their winner.
'Our only real lead was that the ticket was paid for with an ASB card,' says Lotto NZ Head of Corporate Communications, Will Hine.
'We had electronic details of the transaction but no idea who the card actually belonged to, because that information isn't visible to retailers.'
'We knew ASB would be unable to give us their customer's details for privacy reasons, so instead asked them to pass on a confidential message to their customer that they might want to contact the Lotto NZ winner's team.'
The bank helped out and the customer then got in touch with Lotto NZ.
The winner, who wished to remain anonymous, says she had low expectations about receiving a prize.
'In the country I grew up in you would have to have a lottery ticket to claim a prize and I realised I must have lost my one. So I didn't think we'd get given the prize.'
Because the ticket had been lost, Lotto NZ went through a very detailed process to determine the rightful winner, including examining the customer's purchasing history.
It concluded that she had bought the winning ticket, and paid the $500,000 prize several weeks ahead of the prize's 12-month expiration date.
The woman says she and her husband are planning to use some of the money to bring family members to Aotearoa for a holiday.
'We want to take them to see the snow this winter. We think we'll go to Queenstown and also Rotorua.'
'When I got the news about being paid out, I couldn't sleep,' the winner shared. 'This money means we can save for a better life for ourselves and our family. We're incredibly happy.'
Hine says it was a fantastic result for the customer.
'We were absolutely delighted we were able to pay this customer her prize. She was quite emotional when we met up with her and her husband was over the moon as well.
'While any prize money that is unclaimed after 12 months goes back to our wider pool of money for future prize promotions, obviously we always prefer that it reaches the rightful winner where possible.
'If we get sufficient information that allows us to be sure we've found the correct winner, then a prize will be paid.
'We always recommend players write their name on the back of their ticket, in case it's lost and then found.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
ASB profit dips as staffing rises, $33m set aside for customer compensation
She said the increase in staffing levels wasn't a one-off that would be unwound as projects were completed. Rather, the investment was a 'continuation of a theme you've seen with ASB over the years'. ASB's expansion comes as the Australian Financial Review reports Westpac Group made 790 staff redundant in the past two months, and ANZ's new group chief executive talking up the need for a slimming of the company and more efficient ways of working. Neither Westpac nor ANZ would tell the Herald whether jobs would be cut in New Zealand. 'Westpac NZ operates as a separate entity to Westpac's Australian operations with a unique culture that supports our New Zealand customers and employees, however we welcome their focus on change and transformation,' a Westpac spokesman said. 'We continually review how we operate, and the composition of our workforce changes periodically as we adapt to meet customer demand and business requirements. 'We'll be able to provide a full view of any movements up or down at our full-year results in November.' Coming back to ASB, the other expense it flagged was A$33m ($36.18m) in customer 'remediation provisions'. Shortt declined to elaborate on why the bank had put money aside to potentially reimburse customers for a mistake, or various mistakes, the bank has made. She said it was standard practice for the bank to notify regulators if it believed there was a breach, before looking to rectify the issue and pay out customers. An A$33m payout to customers would be material for ASB. Shortt clarified this provision was unrelated to the class action, currently before the courts, taken against ASB and ANZ for disclosure breaches dating back to the mid-2010s. ASB increased its mortgage lending by 7% and its business and rural lending by 2% in the year to June. The value of its interest-bearing customer deposits also rose by 3%. ASB's net interest margin inched up by 4 basis points to 2.27%, as it increased margins on its home lending. Shortt said ASB customers hadn't shifted their money around since the Reserve Bank-administered Depositor Compensation Scheme became operative on July 1. The scheme ensures up to $100,000 per depositor, per institution is guaranteed. This means that if someone had $200,000 of savings at a bank that collapsed, they would get $100,000 under the scheme. Shortt said the Government hadn't consulted with ASB on the possible introduction of a new bank tax or levy, further to Finance Minister Nicola Willis seeking advice from government officials on this. Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald's Wellington Business Editor, based in the Parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
'I think I've changed our lives': Chch couple on $20m Lotto win
A young Christchurch couple are coming to terms with a life-changing moment after winning a staggering $20.25 million in Saturday's Powerball draw – Lotto NZ's thirteenth multi-millionaires of the year. The life-changing prize, which included $20 million from Powerball and $250,000 from Lotto First Division, was won with a ticket purchased on MyLotto for the August 9 draw. The couple, who wanted to remain anonymous, were regular players who tended to pick up a ticket when the jackpot was over $10 million. They discovered their win on Sunday morning when the man received an email from MyLotto — a notification sent for prizes of more than $1000. "It stopped me in my tracks," he said. "I thought, 'this could be interesting'." ADVERTISEMENT After watching the draw together on his phone, the couple realised they had matched all the numbers, including the Powerball. "I was in complete disbelief, I kept questioning whether it was real," said the woman. The man said: 'I think my first words were, 'I think I've just changed our lives'." The pair celebrated quietly at home with a glass of bubbles and then video-called their parents to share the news. "They were all in shock," the man said. The woman admitted she couldn't sleep and asked her husband to recheck the ticket at 3am. "I think seeing the money in our account will be a massive shock – it still doesn't really feel real at the moment." While the pair were still processing the win, the couple planned to take some time before making any major decisions. However, immediate goals included paying off their mortgage, possibly buying a new car, and renewing their passports. Saturday's jackpot was the third time this year that Powerball has reached $20 million.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Christchurch Lotto player claims massive $20.25m prize
New Zealand's newest multi-millionaire has claimed their prize - a jaw-dropping $20.25 million - following Saturday night's Powerball draw. Lotto NZ confirmed to 1News that the lucky winner claimed their life-changing prize on Monday. The winning ticket was purchased via MyLotto by someone in Christchurch. The numbers were 19, 21, 11, 35, 6 and 33. The bonus ball was 27 and the Powerball was 3. The Powerball prize was $20 million, while the winnings included a quarter share of Lotto First Division at $250,000. Three other players would also be celebrating after winning $250,000 apiece with Lotto First Division. The winning tickets were sold at Woolworths Mt Eden in Auckland and on MyLotto to players in Taupō and Waikato. ADVERTISEMENT Saturday's winner is the 13th Powerball multi-millionaire this year. The biggest win of the year so far remains the $23.3m prize won on April 23, which was won by a MyLotto ticket in the upper North Island.
