KEY POINTS:
Punters around the country will be able to buy Lotto tickets online by the end of the year.
Lotteries Commission corporate communications manager Karen Jones said they had been "signalling the move for sometime, but were unable to confirm a launch date".
Ms Jones said customers would be able to purchase Saturday Lotto, Big Wednesday and Daily Keno tickets online "before the end of the year".
Instant Kiwi scratchies will not be available for online purchase.
Ms Jones said the security of online transactions was "paramount" and the commission was "working with the regulators" to ensure customer safety.
She could not confirm whether tickets could be purchased with a credit card or whether an account would need to be set up.
"It is not envisaged people who purchase tickets online will take them into stores to check them, they can do that online."
But, some of the 1000 Lotto vendors around the country have reservations.
Gunvandrai Patel of Patel's Superette in Te Aro, Wellington, said selling tickets online would mean fewer customers in his store.
He said customers often bought other items as well as Lotto tickets.
"But maybe people will come in to check their tickets and will buy other things then."
The Lotteries Commission has bought 1500 self-service ticket checkers to put in Lotto stores.
The ticket checkers would not check online tickets but would stop people having to queue in stores, Ms Jones said.
A trial of the ticket checkers in Auckland produced "fantastic results".
The checkers were bought from American company Gtech.
- NZPA
