Lotto NZ glitch took customer's money, gave no ticket

Thursday, 6 August 2020

People who acquire sudden wealth, whether from a divorce settlement, a lottery win, or selling a farm or other business, can find it hard to cope, depending on which 'money personality' they have.

A glitch on the Lotto NZ website ahead of Wednesday night’s $34 million jackpot draw left customers annoyed and without tickets.

Amanda Smart purchased two tickets online. But when she went to check her results on Thursday morning there were no tickets linked to her account.

“[I was] very surprised I didn’t have tickets when I had made payment.”

At the time of purchase, she noticed the website was taking a while to process her order. She saw money had been deducted from her bank account, so assumed the tickets had been processed.

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A glitch on the Lotto NZ website on Wednesday affected some customers.

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The technical issue happened at around 6.30pm.

Smart said there was nothing on the website to alert her, nor did she receive an error message.

The Waikanae woman, who usually only spends $12 a fortnight on Lotto, decided to purchase $30 worth of tickets due to the jackpot on offer. The whole situation has left her quite annoyed, she said. “Still no warning that this happened, as far as I know.”

Lotto players who experienced difficulty buying tickets online for Wednesday night’s big $34m draw will be refunded the failed top-up amounts, says Lotto New Zealand.

Smart wasn’t the only one to experience this issue.

Several callers to Radio Tarana on Thursday today said they had to top up twice after their first attempt was unsuccessful.

Lotto stores have been busy as the jackpot climbs.

Lotto NZ’s head of communications and corporate social responsibility, Marie Winfield, told Stuff there was a technical issue at around 6.30pm on Wednesday.

The glitch affected customers who were trying to top-up their account, she said. The exact number of customers impacted is not yet known.

“Unfortunately the top-up amount was taken from their credit card or debit card, but did not go onto their MyLotto account,” Winfield said.

All customers affected, including Smart, will be refunded the failed top-up amount in the next two to five days. Winfield apologised for the issue.

Smart didn’t think a refund made up for the lost opportunity. “This must have happened to many people as it was in the hour prior to ticket closure.”

Winfield said the website experienced extremely high volumes in the lead up to the draw on Wednesday.

“MyLotto has never been so busy,” she said.

Traffic surpassed volumes recorded ahead of the $50m must-be-won draw in February.

Winfield said the team was working to ensure customers didn’t experience the same issue ahead of Saturday night’s $38m draw. High demand is expected again, so Winfield encouraged customers to purchase their tickets early.

Lotto Powerball has jackpotted to $38 million after the $34m draw on Wednesday night was not won.