TheLotter

As far as the age of online providers goes, theLotter New Zealand is a 21st Century baby. In exactly two decades of its existence, theLotter has built a solid reputation around the world with its app and website platform that exposes Aotearoa New Zealand gamblers to more than 45 different lotteries. Since its inception in 2002, theLotter lines up some of the biggest jackpots such as the EuroMillions, Mega Millions, US Powerball, as well as daily draws. It is touted as among the world’s biggest online lottery draw providers.

The website doesn’t jump out when compared to many other online gambling sites, but Kiwi ticket buyers will be pleased to know theLotter, reportedly, has sold more than seven million winning tickets around the world. It also has distributed more than $NZ105 million to delighted winners, including a dozen millionaires. The select few among the jaw-dropping windfall recipients include a woman from Panama, Aura Dominguez Canto, who had sashayed away with $US30 million (about $NZ50 million) from the Florida Lotto draw in July 2017. The pensioner had opted for a one-time, lump sum of $US21 million (about $NZ30.6 million).

When our team of reviewers had visited the site, theLotter had claimed its biggest jackpot had been $US2.1 billion (about $NZ3.6 billion), courtesy of the American giant, Powerball. For good measure, the website reveals an Iraqi man had, two years earlier, collected $US6.4 (about $NZ11 million) in the Oregon Megabucks. The unnamed citizen had created history in becoming the first foreigner to claim the Oregon lottery draw’s premier prize money offshore. He chose to take his windfall over two decades, rather than a lump sum.

A lottery ticket messenger service, theLotter is an autonomous go-in-between purchasing agent for Kiwis wanting to try their luck at major draws around the world. With the seconds running down on the website thumbnail of each lottery draw means New Zealanders can buy a ticket (on dedicated mobile apps), around the clock from a spectrum of playing options that we’ll cover below.

Like any gambling activity in New Zealand, online lottos are legal provided they aren’t in defiance of the current laws of the NZ Lotteries Commission. Section 238 of the Gambling Act 2003 defines the functions of the NZ Lotteries Commission which, by default, endorses online lotto as a legal form of entertainment and gambling for Kiwis. Despite those omissions, we have no reason to doubt theLotter’s legitimacy as a trustworthy site.

Laora Limited, a company registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, operates theLotter website. While it’s not clear on the website, our team has dug deep to establish that Aikmina Services Ltd is the “merchant of record” and is registered as a company in Cyprus. That means it has the responsibility of handling theLotter’s transactions, including working out and collecting the various local taxes from the different countries that stage the draws.

However, theLotter makes it abundantly clear in its terms-of-use policy that Laora Ltd is not responsible for any dealings Kiwis may have with any third parties that may latch on to its site. We urge Kiwi players to do the same. The Lotto Direct Company owns theLotter which has a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licensing logo on its website, although because such providers aren’t online casinos, they aren’t required to procure a gambling licence. That will not be an issue in New Zealand where people play the national lottery, twice a week, as if it’s a regular raffle at a neighbourhood school fundraiser. We’ll attempt to cover as many different aspects to sidestep potholes, so you can make an educated decision on whether theLotter is tailor made for your individual requirements or not.

How To Play theLotter’s Site

Well, theLotter site receives a big tick from us for posting a YouTube video that shows how easily its platform works. It also offers a printed version through its FAQs link. For those who are familiar with online casino or sportsbook sites, it will be a breeze. Kiwi newcomers will need to register and open an account. However, the steps take a different course in that they ask New Zealand ticket buyers to click on a preferred lottery draw thumbnail to activate the registration process.

Here’s theLotter’s stress-free and swift three-step process to get the ball rolling:

• Step 1: Simply click on the “Sign Up” or “Play” button on any lottery thumbnail before filling out basic information such as your email address and picking your password. The latter must be complex enough to protect your account from the ever-present threat of cyber scammers.
• Step 2: Here, theLotter wants additional personal information such as your name, birth date, residential address, and your phone contact. Again, we urge New Zealand gamblers to oblige because the online lottery provider needs to audit players to protect its own interests as an entity. At this juncture, those registering have the opportunity to plant a ceiling on the amount they wish to deposit over any specified passage of time. Kiwis can alter that time limit down the road. This step concludes with an elementary confirmation that the gambler is 18 years old, having read and accepted theLotter’s terms-of-use policy.
• Step 3: This is the important phase of aligning your account with a payment method to fund your lottery transactions. Select your preferred payment gateway from the list of providers theLotter displays as available in New Zealand by supplying the relevant data.

To start playing is also elementary. Having chosen your lottery on the site, you’ll be required to fill your tickets as if you’re doing it at a corner Lotto shop in your neighbourhood. You can either choose your numbers or opt for “Quick Pick” for an automated random selection. Click play to seal your selection. From there, Kiwis will be asked to confirm their purchase. Keep an eye on your inbox for an automated email notification that confirms your order.

What’s On theLotter Menu?

When an online lottery concierge has offices scattered around the globe to purchase tickets on behalf of non-residents, then it shouldn’t come as a surprise to Kiwis that theLotter’s choices can leave them breathless. It takes in the lotteries of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the continent of Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, and the United States, which has a lion’s share. Asia is the only inhabited continent unaccounted for.

They include national and state lotteries. Among the choices are the popular giant ones such as the EuroMillions, the My Millionaire raffle, the US Mega Millions, and the billion-dollar-plus US Powerball. While rival GiantLottos offering fewer draws may benefit newcomers, the 45-plus on theLotter may make it difficult for them to decide which one. In fact, the site must be adding new games because we found at times their count hovers around the 60 mark.

However, Kiwi gamblers can opt for a popular draw or go for a smaller or familiar one, such as the Australia Monday/Wednesday Lotto, or perhaps the Italy MillionDAY Extra. That’s because some players tend to grapple with the fear that if it sounds too good, then it isn’t true. On building confidence on a digital platform, the Kiwi gamblers can traverse to mammoth draws.

Here’s a cross-section of draws that theLotter offers (nations have respective currency values at the time we visited the website):

• Australia Monday Lotto ($1 million): Launched in November 1979, this lotto across the ditch started growing in popularity from 2006, crossing the state boundaries of South Australia, Western Australia before mesmerising Queenslanders. It’s also known as Monday Gold Lotto in the “Land of the Maroons” and X Lotto in South Australia. Go to the Australia National Lottery site to check the hot, cold, more frequent numbers, and such statistics, that can help you with your choices. The weekly draw guarantees up to four division-one $A1 million winners. Six numbers are drawn from 1 to 45 before two supplementary ones.
• Australia Powerball Lotto ($20 million): A more lucrative cousin of Monday Lotto, the Powerball starts at a guaranteed $A3 million but has the propensity to mushroom above the $A100 million threshold. The prizes of the weekly national draw, which started in 1996, on Thursday nights cover nine divisions. The record payout on October 17, 2022, saw three ticket holders from as many states split $A160 million ($A53.3 million each) between them — the biggest lottery in Australian history.
• Canada 649 ($5 million): The first national lottery in the country, it was launched on June 12, 1982, to enable players to select their own numbers compared to previous Canadian variants that offered pre-printed ticket numbers. As of September 14, 2022, the game comprises a “Classic Draw” and a “Gold Ball Draw”. The former has a fixed prize of $C5 million after six numbers are drawn from a set of 49, as well as a bonus one. The latter is a guaranteed prize draw, which is a raffle of at least $C1 million. Some draws have “Superdraw” status that offer multiple secondary prizes. An Ontario player had claimed the biggest jackpot of $C64 million on October 17, 2015.
• Europe EuroMillions (€120 million): Classed as a “transitional lottery”, this mega baby had its first draw on February 13, 2004, in Paris. A France, Spain, and the UK collaboration, the EuroMillions is drawn every Tuesday and Friday (Northern Hemisphere time). From late 2016, the number of lucky stars had evolved from a pool of 11 to 12, thus decreasing the jackpot-winning odds from 1:117 million to 1:140 million. A lump-sum, tax-free biggest jackpot prize went to a UK player, collecting £195 million (€230 million) on July 19, 2022. Since February 2020, a rule change meant a new unfixed cap of €200 million can last a cycle of five draws. If winners still don’t emerge, the jackpot is divided among the lower tier.
• Italy MillionDAY (€1 million): Kiwis from the late last century will love this traditional but young draw of five numbers from a set of 55, drawn every night of the week. Launched on February 7, 2018, the MillionDAY has four different prize tiers, including those awarded to players who match two or more numbers. Changes within that year gave players the option to play 10 entries per draw. With a millionaire registered within a week of the first draw, the lottery now has more than 170 of the jackpot winners. A post-tax of 8% is levied on winnings.
• Japan Lotto (¥600 million): Here’s a lotto that officially dates back to the 1630s, but the contemporary version took shape from October 1945, a month after WWII. Players can choose their numbers or buy pre-printed ones on a draw known as Loto 7 in Japan. Considered the most difficult to win, the tax-free game awards a jackpot to anyone who matches all seven numbers drawn from a set of 1 to 37. The jackpot starts at ¥600 million and caps off at ¥2 billion. Two bonus balls are drawn to determine 2nd to 6th-tier winners. The winning odds are 1 in 10,295,472.
• Spain EuroMillions (€160 million): The Spanish EuroMillions is one of nine countries. It is drawn weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays (northern hemisphere time) when a minimum jackpot of €17 million is guaranteed, although it can roll over to €240 million. It dates back to 1994 when several European Union nations mooted the idea. In the Spanish edition, tickets bought are automatic entries to the supplementary €1 million El Million Raffle. An eight-digit code printed at the bottom of each ticket picks a lucky millionaire in each draw. A single ticket holder from Spain had claimed the capped jackpot prize money of €190 million in October 2017 — the third one among EuroMillions nations.
• US Powerball ($1.5 billion): The mother of all lotteries, it hosted its first draw on April 19, 1992. It is offered in 45 different American states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. It is drawn every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday in Florida. Five numbers are drawn from a set of 69 white balls and 1 powerball from 26. The odds of winning a jackpot in one play is 1 in 292,201,338. Powerball yielded a jackpot win of $US1.586 billion to create global history when three tickets shared the spoils.

It goes without saying that theLotter has annual Spanish raffles in its smorgasbord of draws, although they aren’t technically lotteries because prizes are awarded based on draw results. That includes the El Gordo Loteria de Navidad (Spanish Christmas Lottery), Loteria del Nino, and Loteria Nacional Extra. All New Zealand ticket holders need to do is pick a “pre-populated”, five-digit combination before buying up to 10 shares in that ticket. Wagering New Zealanders will delight in knowing that raffles always have guaranteed winners. We advise Kiwi newcomers to click on this excellent raffles link to find out more details on how they differ from draws.

Ways To Play On theLotter

Like other marquee rivals, theLotter offers Kiwis several ways to play online lottery and raffles. They can play as many draws as they like, but we urge them to consider what suits their requirements.

Consequently, New Zealand players can enter as individuals or pick options that will help them minimise their expenses while they still enjoy the maximum thrill of sharing handsome prizes. That’s because theLotter can offer online lottery buyers discounts on deals based on the high-frequency of ticket sales. Some of them even come with free promotional offers.

Here are options for Kiwi gamblers to buy tickets (in alphabetic order):

• Bundles: Kiwis have the choice of a mixed package of their standard (personal) selections alongside syndicated shares of group entries.
• Multi-draw: This comes with a warm feeling of a discount when you buy your number selections in advance.
• Standard shot: Choose your numbers or bank on the Quick Pick generator to buy one-time entries that can embrace multi-draw packages and subscriptions. They can range anywhere from 3 to as many as 25 tickets in one hit.
• Subscriptions: Akin to subscribing to newspapers or magazines, this offer is programmed to purchase automatic orders resembling multi-draw ones. That can be handy for New Zealanders who are prone to forgetting due to hectic schedules. The deal is to play every consecutive draw of your favourite lottery until “you cancel”. It also allows you to pay for the draws as they take place.
• Syndicates: You can buy shares in a collective set up of entries where expenses as well as windfalls will be divided with other lucky winners in the group.
• Systematic: The form enables New Zealanders to use every conceivable combination of their lucky numbers to ramp up their chances of winning. Just pick a systematic form whose digits match your favourite draw (for example, 6 to 10 numbers). A pick of 6 will generate as many lines but 10 will cough up 252, each line projecting a different mix of your lucky digits.

The beauty of playing on theLotter is that should you cash in, the draw organiser from respective countries will pay into your account, not the concierge. That’s owing to theLotter not banking on its own earnings or insurance policies to cover for monetary prizes.

Customer Service

Our team determines the quality of service on any iGaming site based on the way and how quickly it aims to tackle the gamblers’ grievances. We can safely say theLotter ticks many boxes with its around-the-clock customer support in 13 languages via live chat, email, and toll-free lines.

The first indicator for us is a thorough FAQs. Well, theLotter knocks it out of the park with an FAQs link that will test the fussiest lottery players. No doubt, there’s always some room for improvement. It seems New Zealand doesn’t feature among its countries that have access to a toll-free number.

What will please Kiwi gamblers is the option to contact an agent to phone them back. We feel that’s as good as an 0800 number. We noticed other nations’ sites have Fax, Viber, and WhatsApp numbers, but not NZ.

• Email: The support crew promises a rapid, swift response within 24 hours of receiving any queries and concerns. All Kiwis have to do is fill out the online form and state, in no more than 1,000 words, what the issues are. A response should drop into the on-site mailbox. Also, email to support@thelotter.com 
• FAQs: In one word, “outstanding”. PDF-like attachments offer great details on most subjects.
• Live chat: A navy blue tab juts out on the right side of the website pages. Again, a form-filling exercise is required. When we had clicked at 7pm (NZ time), the auto-reply said the staff were busy.
• Phone: No 0800 numbers but post your number on the online forms for support agents to call you.

Payment Methods

Transactions are secure under the Geotrust 128-bit SSL encryption code on theLotter site. The payment methods and FAQs links offer clear steps to Kiwis. If that isn’t enough, the customer support staff are available. Regrettably, the kiwi dollar isn’t among the accepted currencies, so exchange rates will apply.

Bank transfers, Mastercard, and Visa are the three options on the website. We suspect e-Wallets such as Neteller and Skrill, are available but, either way, more payment gateways will help. The number of processing days vary on bank transfers, but the instant card deposits/withdrawals are processed within 1 to 3 business days. Transactions will show either as theLotter or Aikmina Services Ltd on statements.

A minimum $NZ10 deposit/withdrawal applies and a maximum $NZ1,000 withdrawal is slapped on cards and $NZ2,000 on e-Wallets. Be mindful that theLotter charges a nominal fee for buying your tickets.

App/Mobile Status

Anything less would undo theLotter’s good work. It’s a mobile friendly website and has the option of downloading Android and iPhone apps. Kiwis can customise and receive free alerts on jackpots and results.

Courier Service At theLotter

This service enables Kiwi gamblers to view their scanned copy of tickets bought on their behalf. It also provides a facsimile copy. This courier service guarantees exclusive ownership of the ticket to prevent others from claiming your prizes. You can view a copy of your ticket on the right side of the My Account screen in your online account. No emails will be sent.

Promotional Offers

New Zealanders can make the most of exclusive bonuses and discounts by activating “notifications” in their email preferences. They also can opt for SMS texts or personalised promotions via their mobile phones.