Play NZ Powerball in South Africa

The New Zealand Powerball is one of the National Lottery games in New Zealand operated by The New Zealand Lotteries Commission (also known as Lotto New Zealand). The NZ Powerball is actually a sub-game or add-on game within the main game of Lotto that can be played at an additional cost per line.

Like the NZ Powerball add-on game, Lotto Strike is another optional extra that a player can choose with every Lotto ticket. Apart from the main Lotto game, other lottery games which the Lotto New Zealand operates are Keno, Bullseye, Instant Kiwi and various scratch card games.

In terms of the history of lotter games in New Zealand, a nation-wide, state-operated lotto was approved by New Zealand legislators in the cabinet back in February 1986. Following this, The New Zealand Lotteries Commission was set up in 1987 for the purpose of centralized lotto games operations.

The Golden Kiwi lottery which existed prior to the creation of Lotto New Zealand was now moved under the umbrella of the newly formed commission. The first-ever lotto draw took place on 1st August 1987.

Since the early days of Lotto in New Zealand, several games have been added to the list of national lottery games and a handful of games have since been decommissioned as well. The now-retired games which you can no longer play include TeleBingo, Golden Kiwi, Gameshow, Risk, Big Wednesday, Play 3 and Jackpot. Scratch card games were launched in 1989 as a replacement for Golden Kiwi. The add-on game of Lotto Strike was introduced in 1993, Daily Keno was introduced in 1994, Bullseye was launched in 2009, the latest addition was in 2017 and it was Instant Play. The Powerball add-on game was launched in February of 2001.

In this review, we dig deeper into one of the important international lotteries, the game of NZ Powerball, within the main game of Lotto. We will deal with several aspects such as how the lottery can be played from South Africa, how the game works, the odds of winning, and where you can purchase tickets. We will also look at how to play the lottery and claim prizes if you win, and why you should consider playing NZ Powerball. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

If you are a NZ Powerball enthusiast based in South Africa, we have good news for you. Lotto New Zealand allows for online ticket sales to the Main Lotto game and the add-on games including the Powerball option. There are no restrictions against international players participating in the NZ Powerball or even winning the jackpot prize through online mediums. Therefore, yes, you can play the NZ Powerball from South Africa by all means, as long as you are of legal gambling age. To find out what other international lotteries you can play from South Africa, consult our guide.

What’s more? You don’t even need to physically be in New Zealand to play the NZ Powerball. In fact, you don’t even need to leave your own home. You can play from South Africa using online lottery sites. The best way to participate in NZ Powerball from South Africa would be through third-party online lottery purchasing websites. There are several websites that cater to players residing in South Africa, so let’s take a look at how these websites work.

South African players looking to play the NZ Lotto and Powerball have two options. Players could participate in the lottery by buying tickets in person in New Zealand at approved retailers and kiosks. However, unless you are already in New Zealand, this is not a practical option. The second option would be to use third party online lottery services.

There are two main types of online lottery services –online lottery agent websites and online lottery betting websites. The principles of how these two systems functions are distinct from one another.

Online lottery betting sites are websites where participating players effectively place real money bets on the outcome of the lottery, i.e., you bet on what you think the winning numbers will be. In this case, the lottery website simply plays the role of an online bookmaker.

If a jackpot prize or any other prize is won through this system, the bettor can expect to win a sum of money which is on par with the value of the jackpot advertised for the actual lottery game itself. How can the bookmaker payout such huge dividends? They can pay you such humongous sums of money because all of these bets are insured.

The second type of online lottery service is called a lotto agent. When you play on a lotto agent website, you basically participate in the actual lottery game by buying the ticket for the lottery online. In the online lotto agent model, players can sign up for an account with the website, choose which lottery they want to play, pick their lottery numbers and pay for the lottery ticket through online payment methods.

Once the ticket has been paid for, an agent or employee of the online lottery service based in New Zealand will visit a land-based retail outlet and purchase the ticket with exactly your specifications and numbers as mentioned online. A scanned copy of the ticket is then sent to the player as confirmation.

If you are wondering whether playing the NZ Powerball or any other lottery online is a good idea, then we urge you to read on to understand the pros and cons of playing the lottery.

The NZ Powerball game is an optional, add-on game within the main game of Lotto in New Zealand. The Powerball option was first made available in February 2001. Like any other lottery game, this game is purely luck-based.

Any selected line on the main lottery ticket can effectively be empowered by adding on a PowerBall number to it at an additional cost per line. Since May of 2018, the main game of Lotto and the add-on games of Powerball and Strike are drawn using smart play Halogen II machines. Previously, a Ryo Catteua Mimosa machine was used.

How to Play

In order to play the NZ Powerball game, you must first play the main Lotto game since the Powerball game is only an optional, add-on game within the primary Lotto game. Playing the main games is pretty straightforward and easy. If you’ve played any standard lottery game before, you will feel right at home playing the main game. You have to choose six main numbers and one bonus number from a range of 1 – 40.

You have the option to pick your own numbers. Some players prefer this option as they have certain lucky numbers. Alternatively, you may also use the quick pick option which randomizes numbers and makes a selection for you.

Now, in order to play the Powerball add-on game, you have to purchase a Powerball number. To play the Powerball game, you need to purchase a minimum of four power balls per ticket for the minimum four lines on the main ticket. The Powerball number should be picked from a range of 1 – 10.

The Powerball number is drawn from a separate machine than the machine which was used to draw the main numbers. The Powerball add-on game has its own separate winning pool. So, if you have a winning Powerball number on the same line as a winning line of Lotto, you will win not only a lotto prize but also a share of the PowerBall prize pool.
In order to win the first division Powerball prize (there are total of 7 divisions of prizes in Powerball) you need to have first won the first division lotto prize and have the winning Powerball number on the same line as well.

How to buy a ticket

Powerball tickets can be purchased at lotto-terminals throughout New Zealand which are New Zealand Lotto approved. Alternatively, players can buy tickets at online lottery service websites such as The Lotter, Lotto Agent, Jackpot.com, Giant Lottos, Lotto Send, etc. These websites support players based in South Africa.
The price of the main game is NZ$0.70 per line. If the Powerball option is played, a minimum of four Powerball’s must be purchase at an additional cost of NZ$0.80 per line.

Draw Dates

The New Zealand Powerball draw happens along with the main Lotto game draw twice a week. The draws take place at 8:20 pm on Wednesdays and 8pm on Saturdays. Times mentioned are in New Zealand Standard Time.

NZ Powerball Odds

The odds of winning the first division prize in the main Lotto game are 1 in 3,838,380. The odds of not only having the winning first division numbers, but topping it off with the right Powerball number are 1 in 38,383,800.

However, there are 7 prize divisions and the odds for each are tabulated below for your reference. Odds mentioned are per line.

First things first, you need to have the ticket in your possession to claim any prize resulting from playing the NZ main Lotto game and the NZ Powerball. For prizes equal to or below NZ$1000, players can present the winning ticket at any Lotto outlet and claim their reward money.

For prizes above NZ$1000, the person claiming the prize will have to fill out a prize claim form and can submit the winning ticket and the form at any of the Lotto outlets. These documents are sent to Lotto NZ in Auckland for verification after which the prize is paid out.

Prizes over the sum of NZ$5000 can be claimed only by visiting the New Zealand Lotto Head office in Auckland. Players playing from South Africa will need to be flown to NZ to claim big prizes. All prizes must be claimed with 12 months from the date of the draw, failing which they will be voided and the unclaimed money is added back to the prize pool for the next draw.

Where can I buy tickets from?

Tickets can be purchased in approved Powerball retail venues which are present in good numbers across the 45 participating NZ states. Players can also purchase tickets from the official Powerball website or from third party lottery purchasing websites such as The Lotter, Lotto Agent, Jackpot.com, Lotto Send, Giant Lottos, etc.

Biggest Jackpots Won with Powerball

Three of the biggest NZ Powerball wins so far are NZ$44 million in November of 2016, NZ$36million in June of 2009 and NZ$35.2million in April of 2011. It should be noted that no one has ever won the maximum jackpot of NZ$ 50 million. Prizes are paid out in a lump sum. There is no annuity pay-out option.

The odds of winning the first division Powerball prize are incredibly low. However, the reward for winning it is incredibly high (minimum jackpot prize is NZ$ 4 million) and that is a good enough reason to play the NZ Powerball. But, there is one other reason which makes NZ Powerball a great game to play and that is the fact that all revenues raised from the games are passed to the New Zealand Grants board which funds arts, community projects and sports. Additionally, all lottery prizes are 100% tax free in New Zealand.