Lotto NZ makes Instant Kiwi history with unprecedented double wins

An ordinary Monday transformed into an extraordinary day of fortune for two incredibly lucky Instant Kiwi players, who struck gold to the tune of a million dollars each, a mere 17 minutes apart.

Lotto NZ's Head of Corporate Communications, Will Hine, stated, "This is a first in the game's history – we've never before made two people millionaires from Instant Kiwi in a single day. When you consider that only two other players have won million-dollar prizes in the past two years, this near-simultaneous double win is truly exceptional."

The day's incredible luck began with a couple from Ōamaru, whose spur-of-the-moment ticket purchase at New World Waitaki days earlier culminated in a life-altering discovery near a local penguin colony.


“We went to pick up some groceries and I bought a ticket at the same time. On the way home my wife wanted to go and see the penguins,” said the man. “I scratched our ticket in the car … then I went straight to our room and put the ticket under our mattress”, he adds.

The man broke the happy news to his wife during a trip to the supermarket, where she burst into tears said, “Is this real? Are you joking me?” The couple had a simple celebration by going to McDonald’s and a return visit to the penguins. They plan to buy a home with the lotto.

In an astonishing twist of fate, just minutes later, Lotto NZ received news of another million-dollar victory. A North Island family, prompted by "big winner" signs at Woodys Winners in Wellsford during a trip to see relatives, also struck the jackpot.

The woman recollects how her husband had seen ‘big winner’ signs up at a store and told, “We should grab a ticket”. The next day, upon scratching the ticket, the woman went speechless after she saw the zeroes.

The couple, who plan to use their winnings to pay off a part of their mortgage and other investments, celebrated with bubbles and safely kept their ticket in a handbag next to their bed.