The surprising secret 1 in 10 lotto winners keep from their family
One of your friends or family members could be keeping a big secret.
A new report from The Lott suggests more winners are choosing to keep their cards close to their chest and are not revealing they’ve secured a massive wad of cash.
The Annual Winners Report 2026 found 9 per cent of winners did not tell a single person they won — partners included.
This is 1 per cent more than last year and 4 per cent more than 2024.
Khat McIntyre-Intrachai from The Lottery Corporation told Yahoo News some people simply didn’t say anything because they wanted to do an anonymous good deed.
“Some people said they’d like to help people in private without telling them, so they’ll do something nice, like put a lump sum in someone’s bank account, things like that,” she said.
39 per cent of winning Aussies surveyed by The Lott admitted to keeping the windfall a secret from their adult children, for reasons like either wanting to surprise their kids later on “or to keep that work ethic strong”, the corporation explained in a video.
9 per cent of lotto winners did not tell anyone they won, The Lott reports. Source: The Lottery Corporation
Others decided not to share the news with their broader family and associates.
“Some people just say they don’t want others to know. They don’t want people coming out of the woodworks, but also just so they have time to think about what they’ll do as well,” McIntyre-Intrachai added.
The majority of winners did tell their “nearest and dearest”, like partners and spouses, with many also sharing the news with family members and close friends.
“We find usually there’s at least one person they want to tell,” McIntyre-Intrachai said.
Are loved ones getting a cut of the prize?
After the rush of lotto news settles, winners have made some big decisions about where they should spend their prize.
McIntyre-Intrachai said the company is finding that a lot more winners are prioritising stability.
The report found 72 per cent of division one winners invested their prize money for the future — a staggering 17 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
The Lott said this signalled “a shift towards more considered financial decision-making”.
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Australian lotto winners are getting generous with their prize money, a report suggests. Source: The Lott
While there are certainly winners excited to spend their cash on luxury goods and lifestyle, many others are using their funds to pay off mortgages (30 per cent) and to help family and friends (36 per cent).
“We’re not sure why exactly, whether that’s because people are just able to look into it more and just be more wise. We know a lot of winners do say to other winners as well to just take it slow, let it sink in, and be smart with your money,” McIntyre-Intrachai said.
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The report also found that while only one person’s name was on the winning ticket, there was a “ripple effect” on their loved ones, who also received a share of the prize.
“On average, eight people directly benefited from each winning entry,” a statement from The Lott reads.
Last year, there were more than 121.6 million winners, and combined, they took home over $3.93 billion in prize money.
According to The Lott, the chances of winning division one in Saturday Lotto and Weekday Windfall games, based on one standard game, are a vanishingly small one in 8,145,060.
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This content is sourced from au.news.yahoo.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
