Lottoland

LottoLand Review New Zealand (2023)

No matter what online gambling platform Aotearoa New Zealanders land on, their primary concern is: “Is it legit?” It’s no different with Lottoland, so our review team got down to the nitty gritty of trying to establish if it is bona fide.

It’s common to hit the Google engine to find disgruntled gamblers making allegations against random digital playgrounds. That does raise some questions for Kiwis who want to visit a safe and secure platform, but it also doesn’t mean that the allegations are true. On the odd occasion it can be a red flag for players, but it can also be a case of people’s lack of knowledge on how the platform works.

That’s why our reviewers do the hard yakka, so you can spend your precious time making other educated decisions. Our verdict? Lottoland is legit. EU Lotto Ltd operates the site. The government of Gibraltar licenses and regulates Lottoland. Nigel Birrell, the Lottoland CEO, is at the helm of the privately owned entity that had opened its virtual doors in 2013. The site is available in six languages, albeit three other variants from New Zealand English.

Unlike many other online lottery platforms, Lottoland doesn’t purchase tickets on behalf of New Zealand players. Lottoland provides a platform for Kiwi gamblers to place bets on different lotteries. Lottoland will pay winners, rather than the lottery operators. If the Gibraltar Betting and Gambling Association (GBGA) isn’t enough, Lottoland subscribes to the stringent regulatory measures of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, and the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland.

As much as Kiwis enjoy a regular flutter from online lotteries and treat it like it’s just another raffle-like activity, the reality is Lottoland is a real-money gambling app/site. Major insurance firms, Lottoland’s website states, underwrite guarantee wins with jackpots. Part of the lotto bet price that Kiwi gamblers pay goes towards buying that insurance policy.

Kiwis often read review posts from unhappy customers, but we thought why not give them something to aspire to. On June 1, 2018, Lottoland had made its biggest pay-out of €90 million to a German woman. The online lotto operator had hailed it as its largest prize pay-out as well as that of any global iGaming company at the time. Christina, a then 36-year-old cleaner from Berlin, had placed a mobile bet on the EuroJackpot jackpot while on a late-night cleaning shift. She had only signed up a fortnight before the windfall, according to the Lottoland corporate website report. Lottoland claims it has yielded some Kiwi millionaires, too

We feel the operator should have given a little more information on that — how many winners; what was the biggest and smallest wins; what cities the millionaires are based at; like Berlin’s Christina, a little profile; etc. On the flip side, New Zealand players need to be mindful that the price of Lottoland’s tickets is subject to the size of the jackpots of giant lotteries, such as Powerball. The operator needs the price rise to match the insurance premiums of mammoth purses.

We can verify that Lottoland is a legit site that offers a safe and secure platform for Kiwis to buy different lottery tickets, but does it tick all the other boxes? The smart move is to carry on reading our review before making any decisions on whether it suits your individual requirements. To simply rate one site against another is never enough.

How To Play The Lottoland Site

With an increasingly demanding life nowadays, who has the time to queue up at lotto retail outlets to change their fortunes. When the routine of work, raising families, and paying debts dictates terms, New Zealanders know it’s a small price to pay to dream … and dream big. But who has the time to take on the scrum at land-based lotto shops in one’s neighbourhood when Fiona needs to attend netball training on weekdays or dinner beckons on a protracted Saturday?

Hey, that’s why more and more Kiwis are gravitating towards online lotto operators. Lottoland, like many other rivals, has made it easy to buy online tickets not only in New Zealand but some of the biggest global lotteries without leaving the comfort of your mobile devices. Here’s how effortless it is to play on Lottoland:

• Sign up: It’s free and quicker than it takes to boil water in one’s electric kettle for a cuppa. Click on the “Sign in” link on the top right-hand corner of the page. Follow the form-filling procedures with personal details, after providing your email address and creating a complex password. Activate the create a new account button.
• Fund account: Select the one of several payment gateways, including bank transfers, cards, e-Wallets, on Lottoland’s list. Sign in, click on “My Account”, then deposit some money into your fresh account. We suggest picking a payment method that makes it just as easy to withdraw your winnings as it is to deposit. We cover that in more detail below.
• Select lottery: Whether it’s the New Zealand Lotto, the mind-boggling multi-millions, or the mega billion-dollar ones, Kiwi gamblers will find something that will suit their preferences. We give you a compact profile of random ones below to help you with your picks. Click on your chosen thumbnail to default to the main page where you’ll find more finer details about the lottery.
• Load your ticket: Locate the main ticketing foyer at the top of the page, which is similar to what Kiwis will see on the chit of a land-based outlet one. Pick your favourite numbers or opt for the “Quick+1” button on the top-right corner of the ticket for a random selection of “Quick Pick” digits. The “+Rest” enables Kiwis to activate the “all-in” feature that absorbs more than one pick, such as 2 for the NZ Lotto and 5 for the US Powerball. Clicking more than the standard number of digits will automatically activate a “Combo Bet”, or system bet. That gifts players to incorporate more numbers.
• Double jackpot: What it says is what it means. Lottoland prides itself in labelling this an “exclusive” feature that enables Kiwis to double their jackpot amount with just one click. Insurance premiums will be higher, so it’ll cost a little extra and will only pay double on an actual jackpot windfall.
• NumberShield: Okay, even we admit this sounds scary. Someone can simply piggyback on your numbers to claim a share of your price. Lottoland, in offering this security feature, reveals that in 2013 a Dubliner had to share his €187.9 million spoils with a Belgian. Clicking the NumberShield button gives ticket holders the opportunity to hide their chosen numbers to keep their bumper jackpot prizes to themselves, regardless of how many others have the same winning numbers. Lottoland sees that as a revolutionary feather in its cap.
• Draw & duration: This is a time saver. A few clicks is all it takes to put New Zealand gamblers on track for the impending draws. For example, you can select the Australia Monday Lotto, Wednesday Lotto, Saturday Lotto, or all three of them, in advance by default. The duration element lets Kiwi players pick draws throughout a year, should they choose to. Opting for subscription will enable billing based on the number of weeks one opts for. Throw in the JackpotHunt feature to sniff out a jackpot with an automatic entry into every draw, until that rollover jackpot has run its course.
• Participation points: This feature offers New Zealanders the chance to narrow down their schedule preferences even more to match their budget. It’s also ideal for setting ceilings and entry points on jackpots at certain sums or picking specific upcoming dates.
• Submit ticket: Take a deep breath, mutter your lucky chant before clicking on the green “Submit” button. The “Shopping Cart” page offers the chance to verify or change your purchase. A “delete” bin icon allows you to remove the ticket from the cart while a magnifying glass lets you see your ticket details. Hit “view” to see your numbers. Running your mouse over the ticket will give you permission to edit any details. Happy? If so, click again on “submit” to seal the deal.
• Email check: A ticket-purchase confirmation should drop into the inbox of your email. That’s how Kiwi ticket holders will receive their draw results as well as notification of any wins for the lucky ones. Money from wins will be credited to your user account. Either opt to play with that money or let it accrue until you wish to withdraw it into your personal bank account. All you’ll have to do is to tame your nerves. Lottoland will take care of everything else.

What’s On The Lottoland Menu?

When we visited the site, there were 35 thumbnails staring back at us from different lotto draws that Kiwi gamblers can play. Lottoland isn’t among the front runners in the numbers game, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s quality rather than quantity our reviewers are looking for. You can have many draws, but little variation. To be honest, most marquee ones have the mega jackpot and popular ones.

What grabbed our attention is Lottoland’s burgundy tags on some thumbnails that’ll help New Zealand newcomers on the site identify what suits their requirements. For example, the Lotto x 5 wears a “Hot” tag. Millionaire Go has an “Every hour” one. The €1 million KeNow unfolds “Every 4 minutes”. No doubt, you can’t miss the €700 million tag on El Nino or the “Record jackpot” one on the €1.9 billion US Powerball.

All that beckons the Kiwi gamblers to key draws, regardless of whether they are mega-buck hunters or newbies looking for a flutter. New Zealanders will be pleased to know that Lottoland had “New” tags on three thumbnails — EuroJackpot Go (€120 million), Small Fortune Lotto (€5.2 million), and Win-Win Charity Lotto (€11 million). It’s a sign that the online Lotto provider injects fresh material to help stave off boredom.

Here’s a cross-section of draws that Lottoland offers (currency values at the time we had visited the website):

• Keno 24/7: This €10 million jackpot lottery draw isn’t for the fainthearted because it ticks over every four minutes, daily from 6.34pm to 11.54am (NZ time). It works no differently to any other lottery, each draw yielding 20 digits from a pot of 80 for Kiwis but we noticed it’s 70 for the European variation called KeNow. Draws in every four minutes is the only difference of a draw bet on the outcome of the New York Keno (Quick Draw). Kiwi gamblers can pick anywhere from one digit to up to 10 on any single ticket they purchase. In Keno 24/7, the more numbers a player picks and matches, the bigger the possible winnings. A single line costs €1 but you can multiply by up to 10 times, with each stake costing an extra €1. Click the Keno 24/7 link to learn more.
• Lotto x 5: Pronounced Lotto times 5, this “new” draw is built on a 6-from-59 frame of betting. Each of the five draws offers €1 million top prize for a €1 wager. The bets have to be placed at 10.45pm (Central European Time, CET), which is 10.45am NZ time, every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Those who don’t want to pick their numbers can opt for QuickPick. Other features, such as system bets, subscriptions, etc are available on this draw. Click on Lotto x 5 for the finer points.
• EuroMillions Go: If you can have a go at becoming a millionaire every 4 minutes, then why not every hour? Lottoland answers that questions with an emphatic yes, based on the official EuroMillions’ 5 x 2 format. It will match whatever the jackpot is. Here’s the crazy part — if you fail to match a single number, the operator will return your stake money. All you have to do is pick five numbers from 1 to 50 and two bonus numbers from 1 to 12. QuickPick (Quick + 1) and system bet are available. It costs €3.50 a line to wager on this draw but the operator reserves the right to raise the price. You can buy up to 6 line bets on a single bet slip or a system bet. Click on the Euromillions Go link to become wiser.
• El Gordo Christmas Lotto: In Spanish, El Gordo translates to the “the fat one”, so you can be excused for thinking that it’s a reference to Santa Claus. It’s in fact a reference to the mind-numbing $NZ3.9 billion jackpot, not the actual Christmas draw. In keeping with the spirit of the religious festive season, Lottoland’s Spanish Christmas Lotto a;so happens only once a year, based on the official one. Like the rest of Lottoland’s products, Kiwi gamblers will be betting on the outcome of the lottery whose winning numbers will be released on December 23 (NZ time). A full line will cost New Zealand players $NZ349.49, so it fosters a communal effort to not only split the costs with buying a line each from 10 lines, but also distributing the joys of winning. Go to Spanish Christmas Lotto for the nitty gritty.

Note: Our review team selected some of the off-the-track draws, albeit new and popular ones, to offer New Zealanders some variation in helping them pick their favourites. The usual mega popular ones are also available on the Lottoland site.

Customer Service

Like theLotter’s reach, Lottoland has a global network of more than 270 staff members throughout more than 30 nations to finetune its engine in the online gaming industry. It’s always peace of mind to find a tab jutting out on the right side of a site for a live chat or frequently asks questions (FAQs). Lottoland has green ones on its site. Just fill out the name, email address, and reason fields on the online form. Chat hours are available from Monday to Friday, 12pm to 11am (NZ time) on weekdays, but 12pm to 8am on Saturdays, and 9.30pm to 5.30am on Sundays.

Lottoland’s Help & FAQs are concise. Its site offers 98 pages of published answers to queries. They cover accounts, payments, promotions, and product issues. Once you view a sub topic, it drops to the right flank of the page as a recently viewed item. It’s a good mechanism because there’s nothing more annoying than opening an item over and over again.

You can locate and click along the horizontal bar on popular answers, all answers, ask a question, and chat with their helpful support crew. Kiwi gamblers also can send the support staff their documents from there.

While chat support is available in the “Contact Us” link at the foot of the page, we suspect it’s via the live chat widget. No phone contact is available, never mind an 0800 one. However, Kiwis in a state of confusion — we recommend checking out the FAQs first — can contact the online lottery support staff via email of customerservice@lottoland.com or  support@lottoland.com or

Payment Methods

We couldn’t find out with ease what payment gateways are available on the Lottoland site. No green links take you to a payment page but at the foot of the landing page are logos of MasterCard, Neteller, Paysafecard, Skrill, and Visa. Akin to theLotter, a click-link to payment methods or in FAQs would make life easier for New Zealand players.

Suffice it to say, Lottoland’s transactions are as safe as houses. The online lottery operator protects New Zealanders’ sensitive information from third parties by enlisting the help of contemporary encoders that are touted to be just as good as international banking safety standards. Secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption software puts a screen over any data Kiwis enter.

Lottoland emphasises it’s not an optional service but a legal requirement to instil security to allay any customer fears. Official third parties monitor everything Lottland does, including personal information and transaction details. The online lottery operator only holds the last four digits of Kiwis’ card numbers. Ayden, its service provider, holds the full range of numbers. It too comes under the scrutiny of MasterCard and Visa to ensure annual compliance. The two 2015 EGR Operator Awards — Alternative Operator and Rising Star — endorses that professionalism.

After bringing the euphoria of winning money under control, you’ll find it’s pretty straightforward to withdraw your innings in smart time. Here’s a simple step-by-step process to follow:

• Find the “login” option at the top right-hand corner of the Lottoland site. Enter your registered email address and password.
• Lucky Kiwis must verify their accounts. Keep handy a valid photo ID (driver’s licence or passport) for complete, unobscured, uncropped images. You can upload a colour copy JPG/PDF file of the front and back of the document under “My Payments” by clicking “Deposit Funds”. Make sure the image isn’t too large. The Lottoland security department reserves the right to demand more documentation via email. For those who feel too challenged. Just email your scanned documents to: service@lottoland.com
• Now link a withdrawal account tour Lottoland account. Those Kiwi gamblers who opt for debit/credit cards to deposit will find their payment gateway will automatically be added as a pay-out option. Consequently, the withdrawal will be paid out to the bank account linked to the card. The player who owns the Lottoland account must also be the bank account holder. It must also be established in New Zealand. Go to the pay-outs link for details on alternatives withdrawing windfalls to your registered bank card or bank account.
• Now apply for your winnings to be paid out. Nominate your pay-out account, enter the sum you wish to withdraw, then confirm by clicking the green “withdraw” button. A separate window will open to show the notification of confirmation. Check your email inbox as well for another endorsement. It can take up to seven working days for the money to appear in your bank account. The all-German, bar one Briton, multimillionaires in Lottoland’s top-10 list is proof that people win. A Kiwi on the list will be even better. Lottoland guarantees anonymity if required.

App/Mobile Status

The official Lottoland App is available via Apple Store and Google Play for tablet, phablet, or smartphone. All you need is a stable internet connection. Kiwis can carry out all transactions they would normally do on laptops and other desktop devices. Don’t lose sweat because you can access all of Lottoland’s games and snap up exclusive offers, too. Go to the Lottoland App link for finer details.

Lottoland extras

The Kiwi scratchies favourites will be delighted to know Lottoland offers almost 50 Scratchcards on the horizontal banner. When we checked it out, several winners’ names were listed on a rolling board displaying wins ranging from €5 to €20. Again, no New Zealand gamblers there but you can change that.

Popular online casino games aside under “popular games” on the horizontal bar, Lottoland teases Kiwis with a sportsbook. Live bets, virtual sports, and lotto sidebets make it a tempting proposition for those who want to keep everything under one steady roof.