With Father’s Day fast approaching, research has found more than a quarter of recent top prize-winning Instant Scratch-Its tickets were given as gifts.
In FY24, there were 143 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across Australia (excluding WA) who collectively took home more than $12.12 million in top prizes. Of these, 27% said they received their winning ticket as a gift from a loved one, whether it was for Christmas, a birthday, as a thank you, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
Last financial year, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 26.4 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $249.65 million. This equated to more than half a million winners and more than $4.8 million won on Instant Scratch-Its tickets each week.
Whether it was enjoying their very first overseas holiday, purchasing a shiny new washing machine or treating themselves to a long-awaited designer t-shirt, recent Instant Scratch-Its winners revealed they enjoyed their top prizes in a diverse range of ways.
“I went and played golf at an exclusive course I never thought I’d step foot into,” one winner told The Lott.
“It was life-enhancing being able to buy my first brand-new car,” one added.
“I ticked the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb off my bucket list,” another said.
Gifting a top prize-winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket on Father’s Day could also bring its own rewards, with recent winners often sharing their success with the gift-giver and those around them.
“My cousins gave me the winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket for my birthday, so I decided it was only fair to share half my winnings with them,” one winner confessed.
“I took my children, who gifted me the winning ticket, out for a nice dinner,” another added.
“I’m surprising three of my grandchildren with a trip to Greece next year,” one shared.
“I gave $1,000 to my granddaughter who gave me the golden ticket,” another said.
The Lott spokesperson Eliza Wregg said she looked forward to talking to some top prize-winning dads across Australia after this weekend’s Father’s Day.
“Imagine Dad scratching his way to that sports car he always talks about, or that dream holiday that he’s always wished for. By topping Dad’s gift with an Instant Scratch-Its, you could end up giving him the most unforgettable Father’s Day ever!” she said.
“If you gift Dad a winning ticket this Father’s Day, you may even enjoy some special treatment as the favourite child, with last year’s winners sharing all the heartwarming ways in which they gave back to their nearest and dearest loved ones.
“A few years ago, a North Rockhampton dad declared it the Best Father’s Day when he was gifted a $200,000 top prize-winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket. In his own words, ‘It was so exciting, I just couldn’t believe it. I can’t wait to take all the kids out for dinner and celebrate with them’.
“Alongside Christmas and Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is one of the biggest Instant Scratch-Its gifting periods of the year, and I can’t wait to talk to more dads who scored top prizes this Sunday.”
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 FY24, more than 132.8 million winners took home more than $4.4 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including Saturday Lotto, 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.
