Lotto ticket purchased in Ashburton wins $28m

Thursday, 4 June 2026

A Lotto ticket bought in Ashburton has won the big prize.

Ashburton is buzzing as locals try to work out who won $28 million on Lotto, the town’s deputy mayor says.

A single ticket purchased at Four Square Netherby in Ashburton scooped Lotto’s $28 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday night. It is the biggest prize handed out so far in 2026.

Deputy mayor Richard Wilson said he found out the same way many Ashburton residents did — through a text from his son asking if he had bought a ticket at Netherby.

“We then contacted the rest of the family — nobody had unfortunately,” he said. “Everyone’s been making phone calls this morning.”

Wilson hoped the “exciting” news would benefit a syndicate, and potentially ripple back into the community.

“Council would be very happy if they spread some love for us — money coming into a district stimulates the economy and people will benefit.”

His advice? Get good advice from a financial adviser. “And try keep the rest of your life the same while maintaining your human connections. But obviously, you’ve got to go spend some.”

Ashburton district councillor Richard Wilson says there were more road cones on the road home from Christchurch Airport than he saw while recently travelling in Europe for a few weeks.

Wilson had “no doubt” the word will spread about who the lucky winner is. “It’s very hard to hide in a small community like Ashburton — everyone knows everyone. If someone went and bought a new Ferrari, people would notice,” he said.

Almost $30 million in the bank could set up the winner anywhere in the world - but Wilson believes leave the small town is “a fantastic place to live”.

“There’s no reason to leave.”

Store owner Kim Wood told radio show Hokonui Breakfast they were all “very excited” as it was the store’s first big win, NZ Herald reported.

“From about 8pm last night, the phone started … and plenty of people were letting me know that Netherby was the place to win,” Wood told the station.

“The team are really excited that hopefully it’s gone to one of our very lucky locals.”

“We’re super excited that it’s our store but it’s very much so for the individual who’s woken up this morning to a very new bank account.

“We’re really excited for the community.”