A Ballarat man was swept into a whirlwind of disbelief after scratching his way to a $25,000 top prize on a recent Instant Scratch-Its ticket.
The Central Highlights resident’s winning $2 Christmas Paws Instant Scratch-Its ticket was purchased from Delacombe Town Centre Lotto, 315 Glenelg Highway, Delacombe.
When an official from The Lott called the winning man, he was still bewildered by his newfound fortune.
“It was unreal. I thought something was wrong with the ticket,” he said.
“I honestly thought there was a fault, so I kept checking over the ticket.
“When I realised, I’d won the top prize, my brain went fuzzy, it was like I couldn’t think straight.
“I felt blank for the rest of the day.
“I was so shocked that my two-dollar ticket could win $25,000.
“It’s a lot of money to wrap your head around.”
With a life-enhancing $25,000 set to boost his bank account, the down-to-earth man shared he planned to kickstart celebrations with a high-end feast.
“At this stage, I’m not one hundred percent sure what I’ll use the prize for. I want to be smart with it,” he said.
“One thing’s for sure – I’m going to go out for dinner at one of those high-end restaurants.”
In 2024, there were 142 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across The Lott’s jurisdictions who collectively took home more than $11.8 million in top prizes.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 25.6 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $251.4 million. This equates to almost half a million winners and more than $4.8 million won on Instant Scratch-Its each week.
Every month, Instant Scratch-Its’ 2nd Chance Draw gives you another chance to turn your eligible non-winning Instant Scratch-Its into a winner. Visit thelott.com to enter this month’s 2nd Chance Draw.
The official home of Australia’s lotteries, The Lott operates and markets Australia’s leading lottery games customers know and love creating everyday winners, winning every day.
In 2024, more than 195.3 million winners took home more than $4.84 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including select game nameTattsLotto, Weekday Windfall, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno (SA), Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s official lotteries contributed more than $1.8 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education. As part of its commitment to supporting the community, The Lott proudly supports Play For Purpose, the not-for-profit charity raffle that gives Australians the chance to win while helping more than 500 causes across the country.