Ashburton family ‘incredibly grateful’ to secure first home with $28.6m Lotto win

Thursday, 11 June 2026

The total prize of $28.6 million is the largest lottery prize ever won in Ashburton and the 11th largest in Lotto NZ history.

The family won the $28 million Powerball First Division prize, alongside three separate Lotto First Division shares worth $200,000 each, across different lines on a single $7.50 ticket.

The anonymous winners, who had played the exact same numbers for years, say the windfall will immediately allow them to purchase their very first home.

The winning ticket was purchased at Four Square Netherby in Ashburton for the draw on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

An Ashburton family who won a massive $28.6 million Powerball prize say they are incredibly grateful for a windfall that will allow them to buy their first home.

The family, who wish to remain anonymous, won the Powerball First Division prize of $28 million, alongside three Lotto First Division prizes worth $200,000 each, in the draw on Wednesday, June 3.

The winning ticket was sold at Four Square Netherby in Ashburton.

A family member said they had been using the same numbers for years, playing a mix of similar numbers across five lines on a $7.50 pick-your-own ticket.

They had no idea they had won until the following afternoon when the woman's daughter sent a message asking if she had checked the ticket because there was talk in the town about a local winner.

'We checked the numbers, and sure enough… they were ours,' the woman said.

'It was such a mix of emotions all at once – my husband cried and none of us knew what to do with ourselves.'

The prize is the 11th largest win in Lotto NZ history and the largest ever won in Ashburton.

It is also the largest win on a single ticket nationwide since October 2024, when a North Shore family won $30.2 million.

The woman’s daughter said the family spent the weekend talking about what the prize meant for their future.

'We’re still very much in shock and overwhelmed with the prize,' she said.

'We’re so incredibly grateful for what this is going to do for us, our family and future.'

While they have many decisions ahead, they are taking things slowly but have already locked in one major dream.

'The only thing we know for certain right now is that we will be able to buy our first home,' the woman said.

'It’s something we’ve always talked about – and now it’s possible.'

Lotto NZ records show the win is the 11th Powerball prize awarded in 2026, following a $5.5 million winning ticket sold in Auckland on April 22.

A subsequent draw on June 6 saw a $4.5 million prize won on a ticket sold in Thames.