‘273 new millionaries’: Where are Australia’s lottery hotspots

If you live in any of these lucky Aussie suburbs, it could be time to get your hands on a lotto ticket.

Australia’s luckiest suburbs have been revealed with punters walking away with more than $1.5 billion in division one prize money in 2024.

An Adelaide man claimed the biggest prize - pocketing a $150 million Powerball jackpot - but he wasn’t the only winner to strike it rich.

Across the country, 273 winners raked in more than $1 million each becoming instant millionaries.

OTR area manager Matt Di Virgilio at OTR Salisbury Highway in Adelaide where the winning $150 Million ticket was sold. Picture: NewsWire / Ben Clark

NSW also welcomed the most newly minted millionaires, with 80 lucky Aussies cashing in major lottery wins in the past 11 months. Victoria came in second with 54 made millionaires.

Australia’s luckiest state was Victoria, notching 135 division one wins. However, NSW took the top spot for total prize money tallying more than $520 million in winnings.

Neither NSW or Victoria were able to take out the biggest division one prize however, that title was taken by South Australia after an individual winner took home $150 million in prize money in May. The winner ticket bough at the OTR Salisbury Drive Thru.

The powerball jackpot had rolled over for six consecutive weeks, before being claimed by the single entrant, the odds of about 134 million to one.

The Lott spokesman Matt Hart said it would be interesting to see if 2024’s lottery hotspots continue their streak.

“Some players tell us they deliberately pick lottery outlets that have recently sold a major lottery prize in the hope of continuing the winning streak, while other players choose different outlets, believing lightning won’t strike twice,” Mr Hart said.

“While we saw pockets of major lottery prize wins across Australian states and territories this year, it’s important to remember that a division one win can land anywhere at any time.”

So where did Lady Luck strike?

NSW

Four out of five of the state’s biggest wins came from online powerball ticket purchases. The one outlier was a Galston couple who took home the entirety of a $40 million jackpot in July. The ticket was purchased from Kenthurst Cellars in Sydney’s north-west.

According to The Lott, the down-to-earth couple planned to continue working despite their new found riches. “I always say that I’ve already won the lottery because I live in Australia, I’m healthy and I met my beautiful wife,” the husband said.

The luckiest postcode this year was Sydney’s CBD, racking up four division one wins worth more than $7.8 million.

Coming in a close second was Cabramatta in Sydney’s west, taking home more $6.4 million in three separate winning entries.

Liverpool, Sussex Inlet and Blacktown took out the remaining top five spots.

The regions also had their fair share of winnings, with 22 entries in the Hunter and Central Coast region taking home $133 million. This was thanks to a 50 per cent share of the largest ever Australian powerball jackpot of $200 million being won by a couple from the Hunter.

The Lott spokesman Matt Hart. Picture: Supplied

Queensland

Two separate $100 million powerball winning tickets were sold in Brisbane suburbs, Bulimba and Chermside. In February, a Hawthorne woman cancelled her gym class to claim her share of a $200 million powerball jackpot.

Then in August, an Aspley mum claimed an individual win of $100 million after nearly losing her winning ticket in the glovebox of her car. The newsagency in Chermside in Brisbane’s north has now sold more $164 million in winning tickets according to The Lott.

Cairns sold four division one winning tickets worth more $4.2 million, while Urraween on the Fraser coast of Queensland sold three winning tickets worth more $3 million.

Victoria

Melbourne dominated the Victorian lottery winnings taking out four of the five biggest payouts. A lone $12 million powerball win in Northern Geelong broke the streak.

A Preston man in his 20s took home $50 million in November, promising to “share a lot of the prize with my parents and give back to them however I can”.

“I’d love to retire them straight away,” the man said.

It was his first time playing Powerball.

Melbourne CBD sold $13 million worth of winning tickets, with Niddrie in Melbourne’s north-west and Preston rounding out the top three.

South Australia

The monster $150 million Powerball win in Salisbury earlier this year dwarfed all the other division one prizes in South Australia. The runner-up came in at $8 million from an online Oz Lotto ticket.

Salisbury - in addition to the $150 million - also sold another ticket worth $1 million. Surprisingly, the second luckiest suburb was Kadina, a rural town on the Yorke peninsula around two hours out from Adelaide, with two separate entries totalling more $5.4 million

Western Australia

Malaga newsagency in Perth’s north sold a single winning ticket for Powerball’s $30 million jackpot in October. The next biggest win came from Northam with a $4.8 million win as part of the Set for Life lottery.

For those West Australians looking to buy their next lottery ticket, Morley in Perth’s north east was the luckiest suburb selling three winning tickets valued at almost $3 million. Mundaring and Mandurah also had two winners each.

The Lott's spokespeople Matt Hart, Khat McIntyre, Eliza Wregg and Anna Hobdell. Picture: Supplied

The Territories & Tasmania

The three least populated areas of Australia still pulled their weight in winnings this year. Tassie had 11 wins worth almost $15 million, the biggest of which came from Lindisfarne on Hobart’s eastern shore, worth $3.75 million.

Three friends - through their long-running syndicate - shared the winnings, while a retiree in Bicheno claimed $1.2 million in October. He said he would help his children with the prize emoney but would also be treating himself to a brand new lawnmower.

The Northern Territory sold four winning tickets valued at almost $7 million with their biggest win sitting at $4.8 million. While the ACT sold two tickets, with almost $4 million in winnings.

Originally published as ‘273 new millionaries’: Where are Australia’s lottery hotspots