The New Zealand Lotteries Commission run all of the NZ Lotto games and there are several, the longest running of these being the weekly lotto. There are also three other NZ Lotto draws, Big Wednesday, Daily Keno and a variety of scratchcards and instant wins. The NZ Lotto commissioned the lottery in February 1986 and like many lottery draws throughout the world, the draws have grown in size and popularity since then.
The New Zealand Weekly Lotto plays – as the name suggests – once weekly at 8pm every Saturday evening. The weekly Lotto is the most popular and oldest of the NZ Lotto games, launched in August 1987.
To play the weekly Lotto you need to choose six numbers between 1 and 40, to win the jackpot you need to match all six numbers to the numbers drawn. Six numbers are drawn in the weekly Lotto plus a bonus ball creating a multi-level prize structure. Odds of winning the jackpot are around one in 3.8 million.
The Big Wednesday Lotto in New Zealand is played once weekly every Wednesday evening. The Lottery is very similar to the weekly Lotto, however players must choose from 45 numbers, there is also a coin toss added instead of the usual bonus ball and to win the jackpot you must match all six numbers and the coin toss.
NZ Lotto Keno games are played twice daily at 1pm and 6pm. Like the other two main NZ Lotto draws the NZ Lotto Keno is also televised. To play the New Zealand daily Keno you need to select a six-digit number between 000000 and 999999. The aim of the game is to get as close as you can to the Bullseye number. Prizes are awarded for getting as close to the number as possible.
There are other games played in the popular NZ Lotto but these are the main three, similar to other Asia Lottery games and other lottery games from around the world, the New Zealand Lotteries Commission raises lots of money for government organisations and good causes around New Zealand.