A lottery is a game in which numbers are drawn at random to determine the winner of a prize. While the rules vary by jurisdiction, the main feature is that a player pays a small fee to participate and may win a substantial sum of money if his ticket is chosen. The lottery industry is a multi-billion dollar business and the games are played in many countries around the world. The majority of the lotteries are run by state or provincial governments, while others are run by private businesses or organizations. Many of the games involve a fixed price, while others offer an opportunity to increase the chances of winning by purchasing extra tickets.
New Zealand’s national lottery is regulated by the Government through an autonomous Crown entity, Lotto New Zealand (formerly the New Zealand Lottery Commission). The profits from the national lottery are distributed through the Lottery Grants Board to charities and community organizations throughout the country. Lottery funds also support sports and cultural activities in the New Zealand economy. Lottery funds have contributed to many major infrastructure projects, including the Auckland Tunnel and the Southern Motorway.
The New Zealand Lottery Grants Board is an independent statutory body, whose members are appointed by the Governor-General of New Zealand. The Grants Board’s role is to allocate the national lottery profits of Lotto New Zealand to charitable and community organisations, arts and sports groups, and other statutory bodies. The Lottery Grants Board has a long history of promoting good causes in New Zealand, and has donated over NZ$1.4 billion since its inception.
Lottery games have been legal in Canada since 1967, when the federal Liberal Government inserted an amendment to a special bill intended to update obsolete laws. The bill was sponsored by then-Minister of Justice Pierre Trudeau. After the amendment passed, lottery sales soared to record levels. But public complaints led to a reduction in the number of official state lotteries, from four to two a week, and the end of the scratch lottery.
The Canadian lottery is now operated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, a consortium of five regional lottery corporations owned by provincial/territorial governments. The corporation administers the country’s four nationwide lotteries: Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, Daily Grand and Millionaire Life. The Corporation also operates a series of instant and online games. Despite their popularity, instant games do not receive the same level of oversight as traditional lotteries. They are largely advertised via TV and radio, and players often pay premiums on base lottery prices for the chance to win larger prizes. The GTech Corporation, a Rhode Island-based lottery technology company, claims to handle 70% of the world’s online and instant lotteries. In addition, a host of commercial web sites operate lotteries and charge premiums on the base lottery prices.