8 July 2024
Sharna Sovereign
[FYI request #27257 email]
Dear Sharna,
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT REQUEST
I am writing in response to your Official Information Act request, which was received by Lotto NZ on
13 June 2024 requesting information on:
1. The safety measures we have in place to make sure that Lotto is not rigged or tampered
with.
2. Proof to the New Zealand public that Lotto is not rigged.
3. Allowing members of the public to come and check to make sure it is not rigged.
4. What is inside the Lotto balls? Is there a magnet of any kind in the ball?
__________________________________________________________________________________
Please find the following information in response to your request.
1. The safety measures we have in place to make sure that Lotto is not rigged or tampered with.
2. Proof to the New Zealand public that Lotto is not rigged.
The legislation under which Lotto NZ is established sets out robust processes to ensure our draws
are conducted with integrity, and we follow these processes to the letter – with monitoring from the
relevant agencies.
Under the Gambling Act 2003, the Auditor-General has appointed Audit New Zealand to provide
official scrutiny of Lotto draws. An Audit NZ scrutineer is present at every draw and the draw cannot
proceed without them being there. Lotto NZ has a strict set of criteria and procedures that must be
adhered to for every Lotto, Powerball, and Strike draw, and these processes are overseen by Audit
NZ.
These include having multiple draw machines, keeping our machines and balls in sealed, double-
locked security cabinets when not in use, and having multiple ball sets as well as a practice set of
balls for each game.
Prior to setting up for each live draw, the machines and ball sets that will be used are determined by
a coin toss on the night of the draw—one coin toss takes place for the Lotto draw machine and ball
set another for the Powerball draw machine and ball set. The coin is tossed by the Audit NZ
scrutineer present on the night and witnessed by the Lotto NZ Representative.
A set of practice balls is used to carry out technical checks of the draw machines and during two
rehearsals. The final rehearsal and the live draw are completed using the pre-selected set of balls
determined from the coin toss. This process is also completed under scrutiny by Audit New Zealand.
The machine configurations do not change between draws and are verified by the Audit NZ
scrutineer before every draw. The balls are mixed for 10 seconds before they are drawn and for 5
seconds between each ball being drawn.
When a set of balls has been used for a maximum of 10 draws, we complete a ball verification
process to ensure the balls still meet the manufacturer’s specifications – which involves the balls
being cleaned, inspected, and weighed. The process is carried out under Audit NZ scrutiny. If a single
ball does not meet the specification at this time, the entire set is immediately withdrawn and
replaced.
Lotto NZ is certified to the World Lottery Association’s Security Control Standard and is audited
annually.
3. Allowing members of the public to come and check to make sure it is not rigged.
Lotto NZ values the interest of the public in our draws. While we do not allow the public to physically
attend the live draws, we ensure that security-approved people are present in the studio to witness
the draw conducted on live TV. This includes independent scrutineers from Audit New Zealand, our
presenters, our own staff, and independent employees/contractors for the production company.
4. What is inside the Lotto balls? Is there a magnet of any kind in the ball?
We can confirm that the Lotto balls do not contain any sort of magnet. When it come to the detail of
the materials the balls are made of, we are withholding this information under section 9(2)(k) of the
Official Information Act 1982, to “prevent the disclosure or use of official information for improper
gain or improper advantage.”
I trust this provides you with the information that you need, please get in touch if you have any
further questions.
Yours sincerely,
Desre Hilson
Communications Advisor - Corporate Lotto New Zealand
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