Lotto NZ sees online sales double

Pandemic restrictions and high prizes boosted the number of users that signed up during the past year.

New Zealand.- Lotto NZ has said that it saw record sales and profits for 2020 due to an increase in Powerball prizes and the growth of online sales during pandemic restrictions.

In a briefing to New Zealand’s incoming minister of internal affairs, the operator said that online sales had doubled as a proportion of total sales, from 19 per cent in 2019 to 38 per cent as of October 31.

Sales had also been boosted by record AU$50m (US$37.8m) “must be won” Powerball jackpots in February in August.

The briefing said: “A key driver of this increase was the growth in the number of people registering to play on MyLotto during the March-April Covid lockdown, while Lotto NZ retail outlets were closed.”

Online sales via MyLotto have increased by 89 per cent since 2019 to AU$431m (US$325.8m). Sales got a major boost from the Powerball in August, when 200,000 people signed up in the days prior to the draw.

For the first half of 2020, Lotto NZ reported the highest sales in its history at NZ$1.38bn (US$918.7m), up 18 per cent year-on-year.