For Instant Scratch-Its lovers wondering where the top prizes were scratched during the past 12 months, Australia’s Instant Scratch-Its top prize postcodes have been revealed just in time for Father’s Day.
Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, there were 151 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across Australia (excluding WA) who collectively took home more than $11.80 million in prize money.
Research released by the Lott, Australia’s official lotteries, comes ahead of Father’s Day – one of the busiest times of the year for Instant Scratch-Its.
The latest data found New South Wales took out the top spot for the state that enjoyed the most big wins last financial year, with 52 top prizes totalling $3.4 million in prize money (Table 1).
While Queensland enjoyed the second-highest number of top prize wins, the Sunshine State raked in the most prize money. A total of 50 players enjoyed a top prize win, which were collectively worth $3.5 million.
Victoria enjoyed 26 top prizes worth more than $2.7 million, while South Australia had 14 top prizes worth more than $1.4 million.
Table 1: The number and value of Instant Scratch-Its top prizes by state during FY20
| State / Territory | Number of top prizes won | Total value of top prizes |
| New South Wales | 52 | $3,455,798 |
| Queensland | 50 | $3,587,966 |
| Victoria | 26 | $2,723,852 |
| South Australia | 14 | $1,414,040 |
| Tasmania | 7 | $471,000 |
| ACT | 2 | $152,020 |
The latest research also exposes the top prize postcodes for the past twelve months – the suburbs in each state that sold more than one top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its (Table 2).
Table 2: The 16 postcodes where multiple top-prize winning Instant Scratch-Its were sold during FY20.
| State | Postcode | Suburb | Number of top prizes | Total top prizes |
| QLD | 4680 | Calliope / Gladstone | 4 | $472,020.00 |
| NSW | 2204 | Marrickville | 4 | $122,020.00 |
| QLD | 4211 | Nerang / Carrara | 3 | $225,000.00 |
| QLD | 4209 | Coomera / Pimpama | 3 | $62,020.00 |
| NSW | 2830 | Dubbo | 2 | $210,000.00 |
| TAS | 7010 | Glenorchy | 2 | $175,000.00 |
| QLD | 4650 | Maryborough | 2 | $125,000.00 |
| VIC | 3280 | Warrnambool | 2 | $110,000.00 |
| QLD | 4118 | Browns Plains / Regents Park | 2 | $110,000.00 |
| QLD | 4810 | Townsville | 2 | $102,020.00 |
| QLD | 4305 | Ipswich | 2 | $101,000.00 |
| NSW | 2570 | The Oaks/ Camden | 2 | $50,000.00 |
| NSW | 2285 | Edgeworth/Glendale | 2 | $20,000.00 |
| SA | 5038 | Plympton | 2 | $12,020.00 |
| QLD | 4350 | Toowoomba | 2 | $2,000.00 |
| QLD | 4701 | North Rockhampton | 2 | $2,000.00 |
In New South Wales, it was the suburb of Marrickville (2204) that was crowned the hottest spot for Instant Scratch-Its wins with four top prizes worth more than $122,000. Remarkably, three of these top prizes were sold at the Marrickville Metro Newsagency.
However, it wasn’t the only suburb in the country on a winning streak, with the Calliope/Gladstone postcode of 4680 in Queensland also selling four top prize wins, with players scoring a total of $472,020.
In Victoria, it was the suburb of Warrnambool (3280) that topped the podium selling two top prizes worth a total of $110,000. While Plympton has been named as the South Australian hotspot with two top prizes worth a total of $12,020 sold in the postcode of 5038.
The Tasmanian city of Glenorchy took out the Apple Isle’s top spot for Instant Scratch-Its, with two prizes worth $175,000.
In the ACT, it was the Canberra postcode of 2601 that had the biggest win in FY20, with a $150,000 top prize.
Marrickville Metro Newsagency (NSW) was the only outlet to sell three top prizes, while six outlets sold two top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its tickets during FY20. These included Alive Pharmacy Calliope (Qld), Card & Paper Shop (QLD), Nextra Riverlink (Qld), The Lucky Charm Toowoomba (Qld), newsXpress Glenorchy (Tas) and Plympton Newsagency & LPO (SA).
Table 3: Biggest individual Instant Scratch-Its top prizes won in each state and territory during FY20.
| State | Postcode where the prize was won | Biggest individual top prize won |
| VIC | Rosanna (3084) | $1,000,000.00 |
| NSW | Tamworth (2340) | $520,000.00 |
| QLD | Innisfail (4860) | $500,000.00 |
| SA | Brompton (5007) | $260,000.00 |
| TAS | Ulverstone (7315) | $250,000.00 |
| ACT | Canberra City (2601) | $150,000.00 |
The biggest individual Instant Scratch-Its prize won in Australia during the past twelve months was $1 million, purchased in Victoria.
While Instant Scratch-Its top prizes could land anywhere, the Lott spokesperson Ally Ramsamy said clusters of wins, or top prize postcodes, often emerged from year to year.
“During the past 12 months, 151 thrilled players took home prizes ranging from a few thousand dollars to $1 million,” she said.
“These winners used their prizes in many special ways, including paying off mortgages, renovating their home, or spoiling themselves with some lavish purchases like new watches.
“A Cairns dad who won $250,000 on an Instant Scratch-Its ticket was excited to spoil his family to a shopping spree and plan a future holiday, while an expecting dad from Springfield couldn’t wait to build a nest egg for his baby with his $10,000 win.
“A Burton dad was keen to upgrade his family home so his kids could each have their own room with his $200,000 prize.
“One Villawood father said was going to buy new car with his $50,000 win, as he’s only ever owned second-hand cars.
“Many of our winners have purchased their tickets themselves, or better yet, received it as a gift on special occasions like their birthday or Father’s Day.
“Imagine how exciting it would be to receive an Instant Scratch-Its ticket worth tens of thousands of dollars on your special day!
“It would certainly be an unforgettable Father’s Day.”
Ms Ramsamy said there was no telling where the next top prize would land.
“While we do see these clusters from time to time, it’s important to remember a top prize Instant Scratch-Its ticket could be anywhere,” she explained.
“Players often tell us that they are superstitious about where and how they buy their tickets, whether they always buy from the same outlet, or always choose a particular ticket in the dispenser.
“Regardless of where or how they buy their tickets, every time a player starts scratching, they experience the thrill of wondering if they are uncovering a prize. It could be one of the top prizes or one of the tens of thousands of tiered prizes within each game.
“In fact, in 12 months to 30 June 2020, more than 29.1 million winners pocketed more than $235.25 million in prize money.”
The full Instant Scratch-Its ticket range, including a special Father’s Day $5 Aces Wild ticket, is now available at Instant Scratch-Its outlets in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.