Aussies eye $70 million end to financial year with Oz Lotto after ATO warning

A lucky Aussie could wrap up the financial year in style with a multi-million-dollar boost from Tuesday night’s $70 million Oz Lotto jackpot.

The mega jackpot prize is the second-biggest offering across any lottery game in the country so far in 2025, and the fourth biggest offered in the game’s 31-year history. The Lott claims that millions of optimistic Aussies, about one in five, from all over the country will purchase a ticket.

Oz Lotto’s Matt Hart said if a single player takes home the entire amount, they’ll become the second-largest individual winner in Oz Lotto history.

“So far this year, three Oz Lotto division one winning entries have pocketed a total of $185 million. Could we add to our 2025 winners list and see our fourth division one win in Oz Lotto this week?” he said in a statement.

“We’ll be standing by ready to reach out to any registered Division One winner immediately after the draw on Tuesday night.

The last time Australia had a $70 million Oz Lotto draw was in April, and on that occasion it was won by a 15-share Queensland syndicate, Matt added, with each receiving more than $4.7 million. “Will history repeat itself on Tuesday night, or will the Oz Lotto jackpot remain unclaimed and soar higher for next week’s draw?”

While winners can still be tracked down if they scoop the entire prize, Matt said registering your ticket with The Lott Members Club makes it quicker to receive that life-changing phone call and get your affairs in order.

The numbers from draw 1633 on Tuesday, June 3, will be announced at 7.30pm AEST.

ATO’s warning to Lotto punters ahead of tax time

With tax time quickly approaching, the ATO has warned lucky Australians who do win a prize to remember their obligations at this time of year. The agency reminded them of what happens when you have a sudden influx of money.

“You don’t need to declare your winnings to us, and you won’t pay tax on them,” the tax office said. “But, any interest earned on the winnings will need to be included in your assessable income.”

If you deposit the winnings into a bank account with a decent interest rate, you could be pulling in a substantial amount of interest every month. When it comes to tax time, the ATO will look at all that extra money, which could see you jump up a tax bracket.

Financial planner James Wrigley from First Financial had earlier told Yahoo that he encourages winners to seek out advice from professionals if they win big. “The thing that catches out a lot of lotto winners, elite sports people and all the rest, is that they go spending the capital,” he said.

The Lott has told Yahoo that financial advice is offered to winners of significant sums.

What are ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ numbers?

Some numbers have been showing up more often than others in Oz Lotto draws lately. The most commonly drawn include 47, 21, 28 and 33, while numbers like 34, 26, 45 and 43 have been far less frequent. So if you’re superstitious, do with that what you will.

In 2024, over three-quarters of all Oz Lotto division one wins came from QuickPick entries, where numbers are randomly generated by the terminal. Nearly a third (five out of 17) of the year’s big winners used System entries, which let players select more numbers in a single game for greater coverage.

Across Australia, 17 division one-winning tickets shared more than $295 million in Oz Lotto prizes throughout 2024. The biggest single haul was a $50 million jackpot claimed by a man from Burra, South Australia. Of those 17 winning entries, New South Wales led the charge with nine, followed by three each in South Australia and Queensland, and two in Victoria.

If gambling is a problem for you go to Gambling Help Online or call 1800 858 858.

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