Lotto is unfair.

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#2429504 1-Mar-2020 09:13

heavenlywild: Folks, this is a PSA. Save yourself the hassle of going to the shops to grab your tickets.

I have just bought the winning ticket.

End of PSA.

My predictions have come true. I'm now about to purchase a super yacht so I can live without the fear of the coronavirus. However, I'll need to work out my notice period at work, which ends when I'm 65.

ANglEAUT

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#2429554 1-Mar-2020 11:53

msukiwi: ...someone ends up paying the 15% somewhere?

Just like always, you & me, the ordinary people in the street.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

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#2429560 1-Mar-2020 12:12

biggal:

I just like to say lotto in nz is better than some other countries

eg if you win lotto in the usa it is taxed and paid over 20 years etc

Yeah, just confirmed this. Fill in your major prize (>$5001) claim form & get ALL the money in your bank account within max 10 working days.

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Ademir

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#2434018 7-Mar-2020 02:25

Lotto is the biggest scam in the universe, and people who are playing it could save that money for some better things =)

quickymart

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#2434034 7-Mar-2020 07:38

Only Lotto? Or do you mean all lotteries in general?

floydbloke

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#2434088 7-Mar-2020 10:38

Ademir:

Lotto is the biggest scam in the universe, and people who are playing it could save that money for some better things =)

That's a very general and judgmental statement and I happen to disagree with it.

I spend $15 a week and easily get that amount's worth of enjoyment out of it. Play the same numbers on a paper ticket and I like to sit there and check them 'by hand'. I also enjoy drifting off in a 'what if' daydream every now and then. Occasionally I even win some money.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

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#2434206 7-Mar-2020 13:42

Ademir:

Lotto is the biggest scam in the universe, and people who are playing it could save that money for some better things =)

I compare the cost of a coffee and the cost of a ticket with how long I get enjoyment either by the physical effects of it or by speculating on how I will spend the money.

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#2434217 7-Mar-2020 14:05

ANglEAUT:

biggal:

I just like to say lotto in nz is better than some other countries

eg if you win lotto in the usa it is taxed and paid over 20 years etc

Yeah, just confirmed this. Fill in your major prize (>$5001) claim form & get ALL the money in your bank account within max 10 working days.

The US ones are not paid just over 20 years - you usually have the choice of a smaller lump sum up front, or the jackpot value as the basis for an annuity paid out over 20 years. I vaguely recall something about it being secured through Treasury bonds, so if rates are low when you win and your annuity is bought at the bottom end, the value of what you've won increase as the value of the bonds do?

I think Aus taxes gambling and lottery winnings as well but I'm not sure what would happen if a tourist won it - pay tax there but not be able to claim that as a credit here because it's counted as excluded income locally?

Anyway the NZ system is far better and far more simpler. I'd rather someone won $50m once in a while than much smaller amounts. A $1m first division prize would almost not even cover the cash price of an Auckland median home anymore.

eracode

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#2434336 7-Mar-2020 19:24

Statisticians say you’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning than winning Powerball.

We had a ticket in the $50m and now I’m just over the moon that I wasn’t struck down on the night of the draw.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

JimmyH

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#2435638 10-Mar-2020 13:24

At the end of the day Lotto isn't compulsory, it's voluntary and entirely up to each individual whether they buy a ticket.

If you really think that Lotto is "unfair" then there is a simple solution, just don't participate.

scuwp

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#2435692 10-Mar-2020 14:18

eracode:

Statisticians say you’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning than winning Powerball.

We had a ticket in the $50m and now I’m just over the moon that I wasn’t struck down on the night of the draw.

I don't get this at all. I heard another "statistician" say that you had a greater chance of being struck by lightening 7 times than winning Powerball. Yet every week or so someone usually wins a Powerball. When is the last time you heard of anyone being struck by lightening? Let alone 7 times!!

Reality check needed on the math. "Lies, damn lies, and statistics" comes to mind.

Got to be in to win, if your not up for it please feel free not to participate. It's just a form of gambling after all, and there are plenty of great charities that benefit also.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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#2435705 10-Mar-2020 14:33

scuwp:

eracode:

Statisticians say you’ve got a better chance of being struck by lightning than winning Powerball.

We had a ticket in the $50m and now I’m just over the moon that I wasn’t struck down on the night of the draw.

I don't get this at all. I heard another "statistician" say that you had a greater chance of being struck by lightening 7 times than winning Powerball. Yet every week or so someone usually wins a Powerball. When is the last time you heard of anyone being struck by lightening? Let alone 7 times!!

Reality check needed on the math. "Lies, damn lies, and statistics" comes to mind.

Got to be in to win, if your not up for it please feel free not to participate. It's just a form of gambling after all, and there are plenty of great charities that benefit also.

[Edited]

What you say makes sense. At first I thought you were right and that the lightning thing was only a joke - but maybe it is true. The odds of winning Powerball are said to be as follows:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/119797725/42m-is-up-for-grabs-so-what-are-your-odds-of-winning-lotto-powerball

However the lightning probability is variously estimated here:

https://www.google.com/search?as_q=What+are+the+struck+by+lightning+&as_epq=&as_oq=Odds+chance&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.