Lotto Powerball Offers Multi-Million Dollar Prizes

4 February 2001

New Lotto Powerball Offers Multi-Million Dollar Prizes

The New Zealand Lotteries Commission is launching Lotto Powerball, a new game designed to produce multi-million dollar jackpots.

Lotto Powerball will go on sale on Monday 12 February and the first draw will take place as part of the live Lotto draw on Saturday 17 February. When the game jackpots, the top prizes could climb over several weeks to between $10 million and $15 million, NZLC chief executive Ariane Burgess said, although jackpots of around $5 million will be more usual.

Lotto and Lotto Strike will be unchanged. To play Lotto Powerball, customers must first buy a Lotto ticket. For an extra 50c a Lotto line, they can choose a Powerball number from the range 1 to 8 or, if they prefer, have ‘Lucky Dip’ numbers randomly generated for them by the Lotto terminal.

The Lotto draw will take place in the usual way. Lotto winners in any division who have bought a Powerball number are then eligible to win Powerball. If their number is drawn in the Powerball draw – a separate single-ball draw following the main Lotto draw – they win both the Lotto and the Powerball prize.

Lotto Powerball Division One winners will take out both big prizes. Unlike Lotto, Lotto Powerball is more likely to be won by just one person

Lotto Powerball winners in Divisions Two to Five will win approximately three times the current average Lotto prize. Players can also choose to play Lotto with Lotto Strike and Powerball, giving them three different ways to potentially win.

If Powerball is not won after ten draws the Division One jackpot will, on the tenth draw, cascade down through the other Divisions and the game will begin again.

The first Powerball game, on sale on 12 February, will have a million dollar prize. If this is not won in the first week, Powerball will jackpot with the amount depending on how many New Zealanders support the game by buying Powerball entries.

Mrs Burgess said the Lotteries Commission had introduced the new game in response to customer demand. “Our market is becoming increasingly competitive,” she said. “While Lotto is still popular and well-liked, with well over a million people playing each week, customers have told us they want the additional excitement of a bigger prize.

“They like the fact that a lot of players can win small prizes, but customers have also told us they want a single, larger prize which is likely to be won by one person. We have designed Lotto Powerball in response.”

“We need to stay competitive, because many community organisations, sporting groups and cultural projects right around New Zealand rely on our funding. We have developed Powerball to make Lotto more exciting, and help us win back our share of the discretionary dollar for those organisations.

“We think customers will find Powerball an exciting game to play, and will be happy to support arts, sporting and community groups while having the chance to win a really big prize”.

Ends.

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