Lottery officials want to see larger jackpots

By Kate Northrop

The New Zealand Lottery announced fundamental changes that will impact the flexibility players will have to spend on tickets online, with a potential increase in difficulty to winning the nation's flagship Powerball game in the coming years.

Later this month, Lotto NZ will be introducing some major changes as part of its system upgrade, which includes a "simplified" spending limit, new customer-facing terminals in-store, and easier-to-manage lottery tickets.

The system upgrade is scheduled for Sept. 29, on which date the Lotto NZ will be implementing a "major technology upgrade" that will bring ticket checkers out of service. However, players may still ask retailers to check tickets or use the Lottery's mobile app.

One of the biggest changes New Zealand players can expect is the simplification of online spending limits. Currently, Lotto NZ gives players a $150 weekly and $500 monthly spent limit, with a separate weekly spend limit of $50 on Instant Kiwi games incorporated into the overall spend limits.

On Sept. 29, the Lottery will introduce a $150 7-day rolling limit across the board, without any restrictions on how much can be spent on specific games. Rather than funds resetting on one set day of the week, funds towards the limit will be reintroduced exactly one week later, regardless of what day of the week it is. It will allow players greater visibility of their weekly spend and when they can expect to see funds made available again, the Lottery explains.

For example, rather than the entire spending limit replenishing on a set day of the week, like every Monday, spending $20 on a Tuesday will make that $20 available again the next Tuesday, while spending $30 on Wednesday will make that $30 available again the following Wednesday.

Players can also set their own spend limit less than the $150 maximum.

"When you first log in after the upgrade, you'll be prompted to set your new spend limit," the Lottery said. "We encourage you to consider how much you have in your budget to play Lotto NZ games to help you set this."

Aside from spending limits, the Lottery's upgrade will involve newer in-store purchasing experiences that allow players to see exactly what they're buying on a customer-facing screen. When a player also purchases Lotto, Powerball, and Strike plays all at once, the terminal will print them out on a single ticket.

Lastly, Lotto NZ officials are considering adding numbers to the current Powerball matrix to make the game harder to win and allow for larger jackpots, a separate consideration from the technology upgrades set to arrive at the end of the month.

In Lotto NZ's Statement of Performance Expectations, the Lottery reported a 28% growth in ticket sales across five years, from $951 million in Fiscal Year 2019 to $1.22 billion in Fiscal Year 2024.

"The 28% sales growth means that in each Lotto Powerball draw, there is now substantially greater coverage of the possible winning combinations," the document reads.

In other words, Lottery officials are worried that the jackpot is being hit too frequently before it's able to hit its $50 million cap, which triggers a Must Be Won (MBW) drawing that guarantees a $50 million winner. If those types of appealing draws happen less often than not, the game could become stale.

"Over time, this results in the jackpot being struck more frequently and so lower average jackpots over the year and lower likelihood of getting to a MBW draw, which is currently expected every four to five years," the Lottery said. "This trend will eventually result in sales (and community contributions) beginning to decline."

The solution, officials theorized, is to change the game matrix and odds to winning the jackpot level prize in Powerball to garner larger jackpots, a proposal already factored into a five-year plan.

"...we expect high jackpots — including MBW draws — will occur often enough to drive continued high awareness of the game and upside in sales performance," documents conclude.

Currently, Lotto NZ is developing a proposal for consultation on the idea and is aiming for government approval within the next five years.

Thanks to dannyct for the tip.