For Aussie dads vying for more than socks and jocks this Father’s Day, the Instant Scratch-Its top prize postcodes from the past 12 months have been unwrapped ahead of the special day.
The Lott, the official home of Australia’s lotteries, has scratched away at the data and can exclusively reveal the postcodes and states where the most top prize wins have landed across Australia – excluding Western Australia.
The research released by The Lott comes ahead of Father’s Day on Sunday 4 September 2022 – one of the most popular times of the year for Instant Scratch-Its gift giving.
Between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, there were 139 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners across Australia who collectively took home more than $14.51 million in prize money.
During this same time, Instant Scratch-Its players enjoyed more than 28.7 million wins across all prize tiers worth more than $261 million.
This equates to over half a million winners a week and almost three-quarters of a million dollars won on Instant Scratch-Its every day.
Not only did Queensland take out the State of Origin this year, but the Sunshine State also took out the top spot for the most Instant Scratch-Its top prizes for the second year in a row.
The latest data revealed there were 52 top prizes in Queensland that totalled more than $5.9 million in prize money (Table 1).
New South Wales Instant Scratch-Its fanatics enjoyed 43 top prize wins totalling more than $4.7 million with a 39.86 percent increase than the financial year before.
While Victorian players claimed 26 top prize wins collectively worth more than $2.9 million with a 2.33 percent increase than the 12 months prior (Table 1).
Table 1: The number and value of Instant Scratch-Its top prizes by state and territory during FY22
| State / Territory | Number of top prizes won | Total value of top prizes |
| Queensland | 52 | $5,938,065.00 |
| New South Wales | 43 | $4,729,022.00 |
| Victoria | 26 | $2,935,063.00 |
| South Australia | 9 | $700,000.00 |
| Tasmania | 7 | $203,000.00 |
| The Australian Capital Territory | 2 | $12,022.00 |
| Total | 139 | $14,517,172.00 |
The data also reveals the postcodes in each state and territory that have sold more than one top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its in FY22 (Table 2).
In Queensland, it was the postcode of 4740 for the North Queensland suburbs of Mackay/Mackay West that landed on top with four top prizes totalling to $94,999.
News on Bridge in Mackay, and Boonah Newsagency in the Scenic Rim Region of Queensland were the only Queensland outlets to sell two Instant Scratch-Its top prize winning tickets in the past 12 months.
In New South Wales, the postcode of 2232 for the Southern Sydney suburbs of Sutherland/Kirrawee (2232) was crowned the state’s hottest spot with three Instant Scratch-Its top prize wins.
Sutherland Newsagency in Southern Sydney was the only New South Wales outlet to sell two top Instant Scratch-Its top prizes.
In The Australian Capital Territory, Supanews Canberra was the only outlet in the territory to sell two top prizes.
In Victoria, the postcodes of 3028 for Laverton and Altona Meadows and 3088 for St Helena and Greensborough each sold two top prizes.
Meanwhile in Tasmania, the postcode of 7250 for Ravenswood, and Launceston sold two top prizes collectively worth $110,000.
In South Australia, the postcode of 5290 for Mount Gambier sold two top prizes amounting to $35,000. Both of these winning tickets were from Chapman’s Newsagency.
Table 2: The postcodes where multiple top-prize winning Instant Scratch-Its were sold during FY22
| Postcode | Suburb | State / Territory | Number of top prizes | Total of top prizes |
| 4740 | Mackay/Mackay West* | Queensland | 4 | $94,999.00 |
| 2232 | Sutherland/Kirrawee* | New South Wales | 3 | $325,000.00 |
| 4509 | North Lakes | Queensland | 2 | $720,000.00 |
| 4218 | Mermaid Waters | Queensland | 2 | $360,000.00 |
| 2170 | Casula/Moorebank | New South Wales | 2 | $260,000.00 |
| 4310 | Boonah* | Queensland | 2 | $250,000.00 |
| 4870 | Cairns | Queensland | 2 | $210,000.00 |
| 3088 | St Helena/Greensborough | Victoria | 2 | $269,999.00 |
| 3028 | Altona Meadows/Laverton | Victoria | 2 | $152,022.00 |
| 4500 | Bray Park/Strathpine | Queensland | 2 | $125,000.00 |
| 2250 | Erina/Wyoming | New South Wales | 2 | $110,000.00 |
| 4207 | Holmview/Mount Warren Park | Queensland | 2 | $110,000.00 |
| 7250 | Ravenswood/Launceston | Tasmania | 2 | $110,000.00 |
| 5290 | Mount Gambier* | South Australia | 2 | $35,000.00 |
| 4305 | North Ipswich/Brassall | Queensland | 2 | $27,022.00 |
| 2601 | Canberra* | The Australian Capital Territory | 2 | $12,022.00 |
| 4680 | Gladstone/Boyne Island | Queensland | 2 | $4,044.00 |
* News on Bridge, Boonah Newsagency, Sutherland Newsagency, Chapman’s Newsagency and Supanews Canberra Centre each sold two Instant Scratch-Its top prize winning tickets
Two $1 million prizes were scratched by players during financial year, with the winning tickets sold from Sandringham Authorised Newsagency (Vic) and Roma Newsagency (Qld).
Table 3: Largest individual Instant Scratch-Its top prizes won in each state and territory during FY22
| State | Postcode where the prize was won | Biggest individual top prize won |
| Victoria | 3191 (Sandringham) | $1,000,000.00 |
| Queensland | 4455 (Roma) | $1,000,000.00 |
| New South Wales | 2539 (Burrill Lake) | $520,000.00 |
| 2530 (Dapto) | $520,000.00 | |
| South Australia | 5583 (Kilburn) | $260,000.00 |
| Tasmania | 7250 (Ravenswood) | $100,000.00 |
| The Australian Capital Territory | 2601 (Canberra) | $10,000.00 |
The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell said Australia’s flurry of FY22 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners had landed far and wide, surprising a smorgasbord of players across the nation.
She said only time would tell whether last year’s winning areas would sustain their reputations in the months to come.
“Last financial year, we saw Instant Scratch-Its top prize wins land across the country – from metropolitan areas to small regional towns,” she said.
“Some Instant Scratch-Its aficionados flock to outlets that have a track record of wins in the hope they might also land a top prize. Others see if they can make their mark on the map elsewhere.
“Regardless of where an Instant Scratch-Its ticket is bought, it’s important to remember a top prize win can land anywhere and at any time, with most games offering millions of dollars in prizes.”
Ms Hobdell said as Father’s Day was one of the busiest times of the year for Instant Scratch-Its scratching, there could be a rush of top prize winners this weekend.
“Imagine how exciting it would be to surprise and delight dad with a top prize winning Instant Scratch-Its ticket on Father’s Day! I’m sure it would allow him to scratch some things off his wish list!
“When looking at our thrilled FY22 Instant Scratch-Its top prize winners, many used their prize to enjoy new cars, holidays, renovations, and even smaller household items, like mattresses and sofas.
“We spoke to Dylan Cave from Weston in the Hunter Region of New South Wales in early June who won $10,000 and was eager to park a new car in his garage with his prize.
“Meanwhile, in the Queensland suburb of Pimpama, Leanne Wilson who recently became the guardian of her four grandchildren, couldn’t wait to use her $150,000 win to buy a bigger home for them all to enjoy.
“Finally, a Victorian man from Dandenong couldn’t wait to treat his wife to a new piece of jewellery with his $10,000 top prize win he snagged while out shopping.”
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 2021, more than 130.8 million winners took home more than $3.79 billion in prize money from their favourite games at The Lott, including Saturday Lotto, Monday & Wednesday Lotto, Powerball, Oz Lotto, Set for Life, Lucky Lotteries, Keno, Super 66, Lotto Strike and Instant Scratch-Its.
Last financial year, Australia’s official lotteries contributed more than $1.5 billion via state lottery taxes and donations to help community initiatives, such as hospitals, health research, disaster relief and education.