Instant Kiwi scratchies are scratch-to-win lottery tickets run by Lotto New Zealand, the country’s state-owned lottery operator. You buy a ticket, remove the latex covering (or tap through a digital version online), and find out straight away whether you have won — there is no draw to wait for.
Key Facts
| Operator | Lotto New Zealand (state-owned) |
|---|---|
| What it is | Scratch-to-win “instant” lottery tickets — result revealed immediately, no draw |
| Where to play | In-store at Lotto retailers, or online via a MyLotto account |
| Age limit | 18 or over to buy, play or claim |
| Ticket prices | From about NZ$1 up to around NZ$30, depending on the game |
| Top prizes | Vary by game — from a few thousand dollars up to NZ$1 million on premium games |
| Odds | Fixed per game and printed in each game’s rules; top-prize odds are long |
| Claiming | Under NZ$1,000 paid immediately (retailer or MyLotto wallet); larger wins via Lotto NZ, within 12 months of the game closing |
| Launched | 1989 (online Instant Kiwi games added to MyLotto in 2017) |
What are Instant Kiwi scratchies?
Instant Kiwi is Lotto New Zealand’s brand of “instant” lottery games — tickets that reveal a result the moment you play them, rather than entering you into a future draw. The classic version is a printed card with a silvery latex panel you scratch off to uncover symbols or numbers; match the right combination and you win the amount shown. A growing range of the same games is also sold online through MyLotto, where the “scratching” happens on screen.
The brand is a long-running New Zealand institution. Instant Kiwi was introduced in 1989, replacing the earlier Golden Kiwi lottery, and remains Lotto NZ’s scratch-game brand today. The range of games changes regularly: when Instant Kiwi was in the news in February 2025, 18 different games were on sale. Online Instant Kiwi games were added to MyLotto in 2017.
Like the rest of Lotto NZ’s products, Instant Kiwi is a lottery, not a casino game. One hundred percent of Lotto NZ’s profits go to the Lottery Grants Board, which distributes them to community, sport and arts organisations.
How Instant Kiwi games work
There are two ways to play Instant Kiwi, and they share the same prize structures but differ in how you buy, play and collect.
In-store scratch tickets
Physical Instant Kiwi tickets are sold at Lotto retailers — supermarkets, dairies, service stations and dedicated Lotto shops. You choose a game by its price and theme, pay at the counter, and scratch off the latex panel to reveal the result. If you have won a small amount, the retailer can usually pay you on the spot. The ticket itself is the proof of your win, so you need to keep it safe and undamaged until any prize is paid.
Online Instant Kiwi games on MyLotto
Online Instant Kiwi games are played through a MyLotto account on the official Lotto NZ website or app. You load money into a MyLotto wallet, buy a digital game, and reveal the result on screen. Winnings are credited automatically to your wallet, so there is no paper ticket to lose and no trip to a shop to collect smaller prizes. Online play is the same legal product as the in-store version, run by the same operator. If you want the wider picture of buying lottery products on the official platform, see our guide to how to play New Zealand Lotto online.
In-store vs online
| Feature | In-store scratch ticket | Online Instant Kiwi |
|---|---|---|
| How you play | Scratch the latex panel on a paper card | Reveal the result on screen in MyLotto |
| Where you buy | Lotto retailers (dairies, supermarkets, service stations) | Lotto NZ website or app with a MyLotto account |
| Proof of win | The physical ticket — keep it safe and undamaged | Recorded in your MyLotto account automatically |
| Small prizes | Paid by the retailer on the spot | Credited straight to your MyLotto wallet |
| Checking remaining top prizes | QR code at the counter, the app, or ask staff | Shown next to the game in MyLotto |
Ticket prices and prize levels
Instant Kiwi tickets come at a range of prices, and the price broadly tracks the size of the prizes on offer. Cheaper tickets historically started at NZ$1, while the more recent premium games run up to around NZ$30 in-store, with online games sold at their own price points (the $15 Millionaire Money Match game is one current example). As a rule of thumb, the more a ticket costs, the larger its advertised top prize — but also the more you are staking on each play.
Top prizes vary from game to game. At the lower end, a game might offer a top prize of a few thousand dollars; at the higher end, current games have advertised top prizes such as up to NZ$250,000 on a $10 ticket. The largest Instant Kiwi prizes reach NZ$1 million. Lotto NZ says $1 million prizes have previously been won in-store on its Instant Kiwi scratchies, and in July 2026 a Tasman woman won the first ever $1 million prize from an online Instant Kiwi game — the $15 Millionaire Money Match — after the previous online record had been NZ$200,000.
Because the games change frequently, the only reliable place to see which games, prices and top prizes are live right now is the official Lotto NZ Instant Kiwi listing. Each game also publishes its own prize breakdown.
What are your odds of winning?
Your odds depend entirely on the specific game, and they are set in advance — nothing you do changes them. Every Instant Kiwi game is printed in a fixed batch with a set number of winning and non-winning tickets, so each game has its own published odds of winning any prize and much longer odds of winning the top prize. Those odds are shown in the game’s rules and on Lotto NZ’s website.
A few realities are worth being clear about:
- Top prizes are rare by design. A game may print only a handful of top-prize tickets across its entire run, so the chance of landing one on a single ticket is very small.
- Each ticket is independent. Buying more tickets, choosing a “lucky” shop, or using any system does not improve your chance on the next ticket. There is no skill element.
- Most prizes are small. The bulk of winning tickets return low amounts — often around the ticket price or a small multiple of it — rather than the headline figure.
No demo, pattern or “tip” improves your odds on a scratchie. Treat the ticket price as the cost of entertainment, not an investment.
The 2024 rule change: top prizes may already be gone
Since December 2024, an Instant Kiwi game can still be on sale in shops after all of its top prizes have already been won. This is the single most important thing for buyers to understand. Previously, Lotto NZ withdrew a game from in-store sale once its top prizes were claimed. Under the current policy, tickets can keep being sold as long as mid-tier prizes remain — which means the big number advertised on the ticket may no longer be winnable by the time you buy.
Lotto NZ says the change reduces wasted tickets and the cost of pulling games early, and that the overall pool of prize money returned to players is unchanged. Consumer NZ, however, has argued it can be potentially misleading to advertise a top prize that is no longer available, and that shoppers should not have to hunt for the fine print to know. When the policy was reported in February 2025, Lotto NZ said that, at that point, 17 of the 18 Instant Kiwi games on sale still had all their top prizes available.
How to check whether top prizes remain
Before buying an in-store ticket, you can check whether the big prizes are still live in three ways:
- Scan the QR code displayed at the counter to see the game’s remaining prizes.
- Check the Lotto NZ app or website, which lists how many top prizes are left for each game.
- Ask the shop staff, who can print a report of the top prizes still available.
For online games, the remaining-prize information is shown alongside the game in MyLotto.
How to claim an Instant Kiwi prize
How you collect a win depends on the amount and on whether you played on paper or online.
- Prizes under NZ$1,000: paid out immediately. In-store, a Lotto retailer pays you directly; online, the amount is credited straight to your MyLotto wallet.
- Prizes of NZ$1,000 or more, played online: Lotto NZ emails you to log in to MyLotto and complete a claim form; the money is then paid to you.
- Prizes of NZ$1,000 or more, played in-store: you take the physical ticket to a Lotto retailer or Lotto NZ to claim, with identification for larger amounts.
There is a deadline. Unclaimed Instant Kiwi prizes must be collected within 12 months of the date the game closes — not 12 months from when you bought the ticket. After that window the prize is void and the unclaimed money goes back into the prize pool. Keep winning tickets safe and claim promptly, because a damaged or lost paper ticket can be impossible to redeem.
Are Instant Kiwi scratchies legal and safe in New Zealand?
Instant Kiwi is run by Lotto New Zealand, a state-owned domestic operator, and you must be 18 or over to buy, play or claim a prize. If you want to compare it with another New Zealand betting operator, see our guide to TAB NZ.
Buying from an official domestic operator is also different from using offshore gambling sites. Many online casinos that accept Kiwi players are based overseas. If you are weighing those options, read our overview of online casinos in New Zealand. Instant Kiwi, by contrast, is bought directly from the official Lotto NZ channels, so the main thing to verify is simply that you are using the genuine Lotto NZ website or app, not a copycat site.
Instant Kiwi is a lottery product rather than a draw game. If you are more interested in Lotto, Powerball or Strike, those work differently — see the detail on the 2026 Powerball changes and how the draw games are played.
Responsible gambling
Instant-win products can be easy to buy repeatedly, so set a budget before you play and treat the ticket price as money you are prepared to lose. You must be 18 or over to play.
If gambling is causing harm to you or someone you know, free and confidential help is available in New Zealand. The Gambling Helpline Aotearoa can be reached 24/7 on 0800 654 655, and Safer Gambling Aotearoa offers support and self-help tools. This article is information only and is not gambling, financial or legal advice.
Sources
- Lotto New Zealand — Instant Kiwi
- Wikipedia — Lotto New Zealand (Instant Kiwi history and claim-of-prizes rules)
- RNZ — Instant Kiwi ticket advertising may be misleading if top prizes already won (Feb 2025)
- 1News — First $1m online Instant Kiwi prize won by Tasman woman (Jul 2026)
- Consumer NZ
- Gambling Helpline Aotearoa
- Safer Gambling Aotearoa
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How do you check an Instant Kiwi ticket online?
There is no draw to check — the result is revealed the moment you scratch a paper ticket or reveal an online game, and wins on online games are recorded automatically in your MyLotto account. What you can check online is each game’s status: the Lotto NZ app and website list how many top prizes are still available for every live game, which is worth doing before you buy a paper ticket.
Are there free Instant Kiwi games?
No. Instant Kiwi is a paid lottery product, so every entry costs money and there is no official free-to-play version. Some games can pay out a “bonus ticket” — a free replacement ticket won as a prize — but any outside website offering “free Instant Kiwi” is not the genuine Lotto NZ product, so treat it with caution.
Do you have to be a New Zealand resident to play?
You do not have to be a resident to buy a physical ticket in a shop, but you must be 18 or over. Playing online through MyLotto requires a verified MyLotto account, which has its own registration and identity requirements, so overseas visitors cannot simply log in and play the online games.
