Lotto Calls it Giving Back. But to Who?
Lotto is everywhere in Aotearoa – the dairy, the supermarket, on TV. Most of us know someone who plays regularly. And at least once a week, someone jokes “when I win the Lotto” or reckons they’ll be sweet if they do. It’s casual, normal – even comforting.
And to be fair, the big pitch is that it’s all for a good cause. Lotto NZ says the money goes back into communities to support the arts, sport, culture and more.
But what’s actually happening? And who’s really benefiting?
Māori and Pacific whānau are more affected by gambling harm than anyone else. So we think it’s time to ask some serious questions about how Lotto works – and whether this model is really serving the people who need it most.
70% of Lotto sales were linked to the poorest half of Aotearoa.
Where does the money go?
Lotto NZ brings in more than $300 million a year, and those profits are distributed through community grants.
But recent investigations from RNZ and Stuff (2024) show that a large portion of this money isn’t reaching local groups – it’s going to just three Crown entities and a publicly funded independent charitable trust, which together received 42% of all Lotto funding in 2021 (around $150 million).
These are:
- Creative New Zealand
- Sport New Zealand
- The Film Commission
- Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision
These are national institutions with their own funding streams. Meanwhile, many grassroots services, kaupapa Māori organisations, and community groups continue to be underfunded.
Lotto claims its profits are reinvested into communities – but the reality is more complicated.
Why does it matter?
We already know gambling harm isn’t spread evenly across Aotearoa. It’s concentrated in lower-income communities, where more Māori and Pacific whānau live and research shows these same communities are more likely to experience gambling harm, including through Lotto.
Yet they’re not the ones receiving the most from Lotto’s “giving back” model.
Instead, large and already well-resourced entities are receiving a major share of the funds, while communities carrying the burden of gambling harm are left with less. This raises important questions – not just about fairness, but about whether this model actually serves the people it claims to help.
Lotto is gambling. And gambling is harmful. But Lotto NZ uses a feel-good narrative to make us feel like buying a ticket is doing something good for our communities. That narrative hides the reality: our whānau carry the burden of gambling harm, and the profits don’t always make their way back to where they’re needed most.
It’s time to flip the script.
We want to shine a light on how Lotto funding really works and change the kōrero from “giving back” to asking why this system takes so much in the first place.
Lotto, like all forms of gambling, is about profit – not people.
We already know gambling harm isn’t spread evenly across Aotearoa. It’s concentrated in lower-income communities.
Who is impacted?
Māori and Pacific communities, along with other low-income whānau are disproportionately impacted by gambling harm, including through Lotto. But the way the system works, it’s hard to see how little of that money is actually returned to the communities spending the most.
- Māori are four times more likely to be moderate-risk or problem gamblers than non-Māori
- According to investigative reporting in 2022, around 70% of Lotto sales were linked to the poorest half of Aotearoa.
- Lotto stores are concentrated in areas where whānau are already doing it tough
This isn’t a coincidence – it’s a pattern we need to question. Gambling products are often placed where they’re most likely to be used by people with fewer options and more financial pressure.
We should be sceptical when the gambling industry uses the pretence of “community funding” as permission to operate in ways that harm the same communities it claims to support.
The industry justifies this by pointing to the money it gives away. But when that funding skips over the communities most harmed, the question must be asked:
When does help become harm?
Why now?
The Lotto system is shifting and so is the conversation.
Lotto NZ wants to change Powerball rules, making jackpots harder to win. That means more spending, worse odds, and deeper harm for the same communities already carrying the burden.
At the same time, the Government is reviewing how Lotto profits are distributed – for the first time in over 35 years. In late 2021, the Lottery Grants Board launched its first end-to-end review since its 1987 inception, under the Mau Tipu, He Tipua programme aimed at creating a more equitable, transparent, and Te Tiriti‑aligned funding model. [2]
This feels like a good time to step back and rethink the story Lotto NZ has been telling us all along – and whether it really stacks up for our communities.
The industry justifies its activity by claiming the money it gives away. But when that funding skips over the communities most in need, the question must be asked.
Call to action
We believe change happens when people understand the system and start asking questions.
Here’s how you can be part of that:
- Talk with your whānau – especially if Lotto is a regular part of life
- Ask the hard questions – where does the money go, and who decides?
- Share this kōrero – public awareness puts pressure on systems to do better
- Support kaupapa that call for funding models rooted in equity, not harm
At Hāpai, we’ll continue to advocate for systems that uplift our whānau and are grounded in equity, not harm.
