$3.5m Lotto profits coming Bay of Plenty's way

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne announced the Lottery Grants Board's 2017-18 grant forecasts today. File/Photo

More than $3.5 million in Lotto profits will be directed back into the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne regions over the next 12 months.

The Lottery Grants Board's 2017-18 grant forecasts were announced today, with a total of $233.6m up for distribution around New Zealand.

Of that, $39.1m will go to regional Lottery community distribution committees.

The Bay was allotted the fifth largest regional chunk, behind Auckland ($11.7m), Waikato ($4.4m), Canterbury/Kaikoura ($4m) and Wellington/Wairarapa ($3.5m).

Another $135.4m will be split between national committees, including those dedicated to community facilities, health research, disabilities and outdoor safety.

An extra $7.5m was allocated to the Lottery Community Facilities Committee to go towards large capital works in communities recovering from the Kaikoura earthquake, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said.

"It is crucial for communities to rebuild or maintain facilities such as local community houses which provide space for people to access multiple services or larger venues that are used for sport, cultural and leisure activities," Mr Dunne said.

The board put $94.5m toward arts, culture and sporting initiatives through funding for the New Zealand Film Commission ($14.6m) including Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision ($1.12m), Creative New Zealand ($33.7m) and Sport New Zealand ($45m).