And by the end of the fifth month of the year, there had been 16 overnight millionaires with Lotto and Strike, with a further five multi-millionaires with Powerball.
In the biggest draw of the year, 10 lucky winners won $5m each after sharing the mammoth $50m Powerball jackpot in August.
After bagging massive Lotto prizes, winners are required to head over to Lotto's head office in Auckland, where they are then taken to a special room.
Stocked with champagne, chocolate and even tissues for the emotional types, winners also receive a book full of handy tips.
"The decision about what you do with your winnings is entirely yours - you will shape your future," the 60-page book states.
"We hope this booklet helps you to understand the steps ahead of you, make your goals easier to reach and, of course, enjoy your winnings!
"We wish you all the best for the future, and hope you'll look back on the day you found out you were a winner as one of the happiest days of your life."
The timetable for action
Winners could find themselves on a high, understandably so, following a major Lotto win but right after a win was not the right time to splurge.
One of the steps Lotto advised winners to follow is to create a timetable for action to help work out what winners wanted to do with their money.
• Review your current financial position and get further help if needed;
• Ask yourself if you're getting what you want from your win?
• If you're not, write down what's wrong and what steps you can make to amend things;
• Take action to make things better.
Previous winners' advice
• Think before you spend: It's best to spend some time to think about your win and what you really want to do with the money before you start forking out;