Oz Lotteries is the online brand many New Zealanders reach for when they want to buy a ticket in Australia’s national draws, such as Oz Lotto and Powerball. This guide explains in plain terms what the platform actually is, who runs it, whether people living in New Zealand can use it, how buying and claiming work, what it costs, and how the Australian games differ from the Lotto you already know at home. Every figure below has been checked against operator and regulator sources rather than marketing copy.
What is Oz Lotteries?
Oz Lotteries (ozlotteries.com) is an accredited online lottery reseller, not a lottery operator in its own right. It is run by Jumbo Interactive Limited, a publicly listed Australian company (ASX: JIN) that sells official entries into draws conducted by The Lottery Corporation, which trades as the Lott. The Lottery Corporation runs Australia’s national lotteries and was demerged from Tabcorp in mid-2022, so the games themselves are operated and regulated in Australia while Oz Lotteries handles the website, your account, payments and prize notifications.
When you buy through Oz Lotteries, your numbers are entered into the same official draw you would play at an Australian newsagent. The platform stores your entry digitally, emails your results, and credits smaller prizes to your account. The oldest headline game it carries, Oz Lotto, held its first draw in 1994 as Australia’s first truly national lottery, and it remains one of the platform’s most-played draws.
Quick Facts
| Platform | Oz Lotteries — ozlotteries.com |
| Operator | Jumbo Interactive Limited (ASX: JIN), an accredited online lottery reseller |
| Draws run by | The Lottery Corporation, trading as the Lott (Australia) |
| Games sold | Oz Lotto, Powerball, Saturday Lotto, Set for Life, weekday draws and charity lotteries |
| Minimum age | 18 (or higher if your country’s legal age is higher) |
| Currency | Australian dollars (AUD); conversion costs apply for NZ buyers |
| Overseas members | Accepted, but must complete identity verification within 45 days and warrant they are legally entitled to play |
| Fees | Ticket price plus a small service fee on some purchases; total shown at checkout |
Can New Zealanders use Oz Lotteries?
Yes, people in New Zealand can generally register and buy tickets, but there are conditions, and you take on some responsibility yourself. Oz Lotteries accepts overseas members, however it does not independently confirm that each customer is legally entitled to play. Instead, when you register you warrant that you are allowed to buy lottery products where you live. That means it is up to you to be comfortable that playing an offshore lottery is lawful and sensible for your own situation before you deposit any money.
Because the games are Australian, playing through Oz Lotteries is a cross-border purchase. If you would rather keep things simple and fully covered by local rules, the domestic alternative is to play through the New Zealand Lotteries Commission. For a fuller picture of how cross-border ticket buying is treated, our explainer on whether visitors and non-residents can buy Lotto in NZ covers the practical and legal edges.
Age and identity verification
The minimum age to hold an Oz Lotteries account is 18, and if the legal gambling age where you live is higher, you must follow that instead. Overseas members, and members in certain Australian states, are asked to complete identity verification within 45 days of registering. Until that is done, account access can be restricted, so a New Zealand player should expect to upload identification before they can withdraw larger balances.
Currency and payments
Tickets are priced and paid for in Australian dollars. A New Zealand card or bank account will therefore be subject to currency conversion and any foreign-transaction fee your own provider charges, which adds a few percent on top of the ticket cost. The platform also asks members to reconfirm their address roughly once a year to check they still live somewhere it can lawfully offer its products.
Which Australian lottery games can you play?
Oz Lotteries carries the full line-up of The Lott’s national draws plus a rotating selection of charity and art-union lotteries. The most popular games are Oz Lotto (drawn Tuesdays), Powerball (Thursdays), Saturday Lotto, the daily Set for Life, and the smaller Monday and Wednesday draws. It is important to understand that the Australian Powerball and Australian Lotto are entirely different games from New Zealand’s own Powerball and Lotto: the number pools, draw days and odds are not the same, so you cannot read across from one to the other. If you want the New Zealand figures, see our breakdown of the odds of winning Powerball in NZ.
Australian Lottery Games Compared
| Game | Numbers drawn | Main draw day | Division 1 odds (single game) | Headline prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oz Lotto | 7 from 47, plus 3 supplementary | Tuesday | 1 in 62,891,499 | From AUD $4 million base (since Feb 2026) |
| Powerball | 7 from 35, plus 1 Powerball from 20 | Thursday | About 1 in 134,490,400 | Multi-million base, often jackpotting past AUD $100 million |
| Saturday Lotto | 6 from 45, plus 2 supplementary | Saturday | 1 in 8,145,060 | Typically AUD $4 million+ across Division 1 |
| Set for Life | 7 from 44 (9 numbers drawn) | Daily | 1 in 38,320,568 | AUD $20,000 a month for 20 years |
| Mon & Wed Lotto | 6 from 45, plus 2 supplementary | Monday & Wednesday | 1 in 8,145,060 | Around AUD $1 million |
Figures reflect each game’s current matrix; prize amounts vary draw to draw and are shared among Division 1 winners.
How buying tickets online works
Buying a ticket on Oz Lotteries follows the same handful of steps every time. The process is designed to be beginner-friendly, but knowing the sequence in advance saves confusion at checkout.
- Create an account. Register with your name, date of birth, email and a residential address, then set up a payment method.
- Verify your identity. Complete ID verification promptly, especially as an overseas member, so your account is not capped.
- Choose a game and draw. Pick the lottery and the draw date you want to enter.
- Select numbers. Choose your own numbers or take a QuickPick (a randomly generated set), and decide on an entry type such as a single standard game, a system entry covering more numbers, or a share in a syndicate.
- Add multi-week or recurring play if you want it. You can enter the same numbers across several draws in one purchase.
- Pay and keep the digital ticket. Your entry is stored in your account, so it cannot be lost or damaged the way a paper ticket can, and results are emailed to you after the draw.
Fees and charges
The cost of playing is the ticket price plus, on some purchases, a small service or transaction fee charged by the reseller. Ticket prices are set by the lottery operator and vary by game and by how many numbers or games your entry covers, so a system entry or a syndicate share costs more or less than a single standard game. On top of that, a New Zealand buyer pays for currency conversion and possibly a foreign-transaction fee from their bank. Because these amounts change and depend on your entry, the only reliable figure is the total shown at checkout before you confirm. For a sense of how this compares with playing at home, our guide to Lotto ticket prices in NZ sets out the local line and add-on costs.
Oz Lotto: format, odds and record jackpots
Oz Lotto is the game most people mean when they talk about Oz Lotteries, and its rules have changed several times, which matters because older articles often quote out-of-date odds.
Format history
At launch in 1994, Oz Lotto asked players to pick six numbers from 45. On 18 October 2005 a seventh number was added, lengthening the odds considerably. The biggest change came on 17 May 2022, when the matrix moved to seven numbers from a pool of 47, the number of supplementary balls increased from two to three, and the guaranteed minimum Division 1 prize rose from AUD $2 million to $3 million. From 4 February 2026 the base jackpot was lifted again, to AUD $4 million.
The odds of a Division 1 win
Under the current seven-from-47 format, the chance of winning Division 1 with a single standard game is 1 in 62,891,499. That is the headline number to use for any entry bought today; the pre-2022 figure of roughly 1 in 45 million no longer applies. The odds improve only if you buy more games or a system entry, because each extra game is simply another chance in the same draw.
Record jackpots
The largest Oz Lotto prize pool on record is AUD $111,972,151.04, drawn on 6 November 2012 and shared among four Division 1 winners. More recently, a $100 million Oz Lotto draw in February 2025 produced what was reported as Australia’s biggest single-ticket lottery win. These Oz Lotto records should not be confused with Australian Powerball, which plays to much longer odds and has reached jackpots of around $200 million.
Collecting winnings and the tax question
Small prizes are credited automatically to your Oz Lotteries account, while larger wins and Division 1 jackpots trigger extra verification before they are paid, and the biggest prizes are typically arranged directly by the operator. As a cross-border player you will also deal with currency conversion when the money comes back to New Zealand, and your bank’s handling of a large incoming payment.
In New Zealand, lottery and other gambling winnings are generally not treated as taxable income, because they are considered windfalls rather than earnings. That principle is explained in detail in our guide to whether you pay tax on Lotto winnings in NZ. Tax on an overseas prize can be more complicated, however, so anyone who wins a significant amount abroad should take professional advice rather than assume the home rule simply carries over.
Safety, security and support
Oz Lotteries protects accounts and payments with standard encryption and login security, and the lottery products it sells are official, licensed Australian draws rather than unregulated imitations. The identity checks it runs are partly an anti-money-laundering requirement, which is why verification is not optional for larger withdrawals. The platform also provides the responsible-gambling tools expected of a licensed Australian seller, such as deposit limits and self-exclusion options.
Support is available through the website’s help centre, email and messaging channels, and account-holders can review their entries and results in one place. None of this makes any lottery a good way to make money; it simply means the mechanics of buying, storing and claiming are handled through a regulated service rather than an informal one.
How Oz Lotteries compares with playing Lotto in New Zealand
The practical difference between Oz Lotteries and your local options comes down to which draws you want, what currency you are comfortable using, and how much cross-border friction you are willing to accept. The main contrasts are:
- Which games. Oz Lotteries gives access to Australian draws such as Oz Lotto and Australian Powerball; the New Zealand Lotteries Commission runs NZ Lotto, NZ Powerball, Strike and Keno.
- Currency. Oz Lotteries charges in Australian dollars with conversion costs; domestic play is in New Zealand dollars with no conversion.
- Regulation and recourse. Australian draws are overseen by Australian regulators, so your consumer protections sit under Australian rather than New Zealand rules.
- Verification. Overseas members face a 45-day identity-verification window that domestic players at home do not.
Neither route is inherently better; they simply suit different goals. Someone who specifically wants a shot at a giant Australian Powerball jackpot has a reason to look abroad, while a player who mainly wants convenience and local protection is better served at home.
Common mistakes to avoid
Most problems New Zealanders run into with offshore lottery sites are avoidable. The recurring ones are:
- Confusing the games. Treating Australian Powerball or Lotto as if it were the New Zealand version, and expecting the same odds or prize structure.
- Skipping verification. Leaving identity checks until after a win, then finding the account is capped during the 45-day window.
- Ignoring conversion and fees. Forgetting that Australian-dollar pricing plus a bank’s foreign-transaction fee makes every ticket cost more than the sticker price.
- Assuming home protections apply. Expecting New Zealand consumer or dispute rules to cover a purchase that is governed by Australian law.
- Chasing losses. Buying more tickets to recover money already spent, which does not change the fixed odds of any draw.
- Using lookalike sites. Entering card details on an unofficial site that imitates Oz Lotteries instead of the genuine ozlotteries.com.
Disclaimer
This article is for general information only and is not financial, legal or gambling advice. Playing any lottery carries a real risk of losing money, and no system, pattern or choice of numbers improves the fixed odds of a draw. Buying tickets from an overseas platform is done at your own responsibility, including checking that it is lawful and appropriate for your circumstances. You must be 18 or older to play. If gambling is causing you or someone you know harm, free and confidential help is available in New Zealand through the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655, and you can read more about responsible gambling on this site.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is Oz Lotteries a lottery or a ticket reseller?
Oz Lotteries is a reseller, not a lottery operator. It is run by Jumbo Interactive and sells official entries into draws conducted by The Lottery Corporation (the Lott) in Australia. Your numbers go into the same national draws; Oz Lotteries just provides the website, account and payment service.
Can I use Oz Lotteries if I live in New Zealand?
Generally yes. The platform accepts overseas members who are 18 or older, but you warrant that you are allowed to play where you live, and overseas accounts must complete identity verification within 45 days. Payments are in Australian dollars, so expect currency conversion costs on top of the ticket price.
What is the biggest Oz Lotto jackpot ever?
The largest Oz Lotto prize pool on record is AUD $111,972,151.04, drawn on 6 November 2012 and shared by four Division 1 winners. In February 2025 a $100 million Oz Lotto draw produced what was reported as Australia’s biggest single-ticket lottery win.
Are Australian Powerball and New Zealand Powerball the same game?
No. They share a name but are separate games with different number pools, draw days and odds. Australian Powerball draws seven numbers from 35 plus one Powerball from 20, while New Zealand Powerball is run by the New Zealand Lotteries Commission under its own rules.
Do I pay tax on an Oz Lotteries win in New Zealand?
Lottery winnings are generally not taxed as income in New Zealand because they are treated as windfalls. Tax on a prize won through an overseas operator can be more complex, so anyone winning a large amount abroad should seek professional advice rather than assume the home rule applies automatically.