Calculating the Cost to Cover Every Lotto Combination in New Zealand

The question, and the arithmetic

I often hear the question: “What would it actually cost to buy every single Lotto combination so that one of your lines has to win Division 1?” It’s tempting to think you could just buy every possible ticket and secure the top prize. Let’s work through the numbers on that.

First, we need to know how many possible combinations there are in the Lotto game. For Lotto 6/40 — the standard Lotto game — the number of combinations is 3,838,380. That’s because you choose six numbers out of 40, and the number of ways to do that is precisely 3,838,380.

The price of a single Lotto line is $0.70. So to buy every possible Lotto combination, you'd pay:

• Number of combinations: 3,838,380
• Price per line: $0.70

Total cost = 3,838,380 × $0.70 = $2,686,866

That’s well over two and a half million dollars just to cover Lotto alone.

What it costs for Lotto alone

To buy every Lotto line, there are two small catches:

• Lotto lines must be bought in multiples of 4.
• The cheapest possible Lotto ticket that meets this is $2.80 (4 lines × $0.70 each).

Fortunately, since we are buying all combinations, which is divisible by 4, this requirement is naturally met. The total cost remains $2,686,866.

So, if you thought it might cost a few hundred thousand dollars, it’s actually close to $2.7 million just to cover every Lotto line.

Buying every combination means you would physically need to purchase 3,838,380 lines, which is a huge logistical challenge in itself.

What it costs with Powerball added

Now, many players add Powerball for a chance at a bigger jackpot. Since September 2026, Powerball has 14 balls, meaning 14 possible Powerball numbers can be drawn.

To cover every possible combination of Lotto and Powerball, multiply the Lotto combinations by 14:

• Lotto combinations: 3,838,380
• Powerball numbers: 14
• Total combinations: 53,737,320

The cost per Lotto line plus Powerball add-on line looks like this:

• Lotto line: $0.70
• Powerball add-on: $0.80

Total price per combined line = $1.50

So buying every Lotto and Powerball combination costs:

53,737,320 × $1.50 = $80,605,980

That’s more than $80 million. Suddenly, the idea of ‘covering all bases’ looks pretty absurd.

Beyond the sheer cost, buying every combination with Powerball is even more logistically impossible given the volume of tickets needed.

Reason one it fails: Division 1 is a shared pool

Even if you did buy every possible Lotto combination, there is no certainty that you would receive the entire Division 1 prize. The Division 1 prize in Lotto is a shared pool prize, meaning it is divided among all winning tickets with the top numbers.

Data from Lotto NZ shows that in 754 out of 1,113 draws with a Division 1 winner, the prize was shared by more than one ticket. This means that in most draws, multiple winners divide the prize pool.

The same principle applies to Powerball, although sharing is less frequent. In 14 of the 200 Powerball draws with a Division 1 winner, the jackpot was shared.

So even if you covered every combination, you might have to share the prize with others, reducing your actual return.

Reason two: the jackpot is capped

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Powerball jackpot is capped at $60 million. While the jackpot starts at $4 million, it can only grow up to that cap.

The largest Powerball jackpot in our archive was $55 million on 15 November 2025, shared by three winners at $18,388,889 each. The largest single share ever won was $44,066,667 on 10 August 2024, bought on MyLotto in Auckland.

Even if the jackpot hit the cap, the prize you receive will be less than the total cost of buying every combination, especially when you factor in sharing.

You can read more about how the jackpot cap and Must Be Won draws work here.

Reason three: the money you get back

The amount you get back is never guaranteed to cover the outlay. For example, the recent two-way split on 25 July 2026 saw a $40 million jackpot shared by two tickets, each receiving $20,111,111.

Compare that with the cost to buy every Lotto and Powerball combination: $80,605,980. Even if you somehow managed to buy every combination, your return could be far less than your cost. This doesn’t even consider that the Lotto Division 1 prize is shared in most draws.

Also, the prizes in other divisions do not add enough value to cover such a large purchase, and Lotto prizes are paid tax-free in New Zealand.

You can find details on what each division actually pays here.

What this actually tells you about the odds

In reality, there is no way to guarantee a Lotto win because every draw is a random event, and the prize is shared if others win too. The odds of winning Division 1 in Lotto are 1 in 3,838,380, and with Powerball, 1 in 53,737,320.

Buying every combination removes the risk of missing the winning numbers, but it introduces massive financial, logistical, and practical problems. Plus, you still may not recoup your outlay due to shared prizes and jackpot caps.

If you want to compare the odds on other NZ games, check out every NZ game compared on odds. To see if adding Powerball is worth the cost, see our analysis whether adding Powerball to a line is worth it.

Remember, lottery games are for entertainment only. No method can improve your chances beyond the fixed odds. If gambling stops being fun, free support is available from the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655.