April Fools' Day Lotto winner wasn't joking when she revealed her $1m prize

An Ashburton woman who won $1 million in Lotto wasted no time in paying it forward, sharing the winnings between her family.

It may have been April Fools' Day, but the woman - who wishes to remain anonymous - wasn't joking when she revealed in her family Facebook group chat that she had gifted them all "a little Easter treat".

After buying her ticket just before the close of sales, the woman said she "couldn't believe it" when she checked the numbers the next morning.

"I was so happy, I couldn't believe it. As soon as I saw all those zeros I immediately thought about how I could help my family."

She wasted no time in hashing out a plan to surprise all her family at once.

"I wanted to let everyone know at the same time, but I wanted to do it in a fun way – so I decided to surprise them in our Facebook group chat so we could all celebrate in the excitement.

"I told them look in their bank accounts as I had deposited a little Easter treat."

However, the winner's surprise didn't go 100 per cent according to plan when her family needed a little more convincing that they weren't victims of a bad April Fools' joke.

"Everyone thought I was having them on – I hadn't even realised it was April Fool's Day!

"It wasn't until one of my siblings shared a screenshot of their new bank balance that everyone believed me — and of course, thanked me."

The winner also gave thanks to her mother, who had reminded her to buy a Lotto ticket.

Now, with the remainder of her prize tucked away, she is enjoying getting updates from her family on what they have done with the winnings.

"It's such an awesome feeling doing something like this for your family. There have been a few tears – and a lot of hugs.

"The best part about it is that they are paying it forward too."

This win continues MyLotto's winning streak, with a Powerball player from Northland winning $8.3m on Wednesday night. The winner is yet to claim their prize.

The winning ticket was sold on MyLotto on Wednesday March 28.