Bullseye NZ: Complete Game Guide & Rules

Bullseye is drawn every day at 6 pm. You pick a six-digit number, and a six-digit number is drawn - but unlike most lottery games, you don't have to hit it exactly to win.

Land within 50,000 either side of the winning number and you're in a prize division. The closer you get, the more you win, with Division 1 running between $100,000 and $400,000 depending on where the jackpot sits that day.

How to play Bullseye

Choose your number. Any six-digit number from 000000 to 999999. Pick it yourself, or take a Dip and get one at random. If your number is shorter than six digits, pad it with zeros at the front - 8,941 becomes 008941.

Choose how many lines. Each line costs $2 per draw.

Choose how many draws. Play a single draw, or enter several with the same number. Seven consecutive draws cost $10 instead of $14, and fourteen cost $20 instead of $28.

How the divisions work

Every division is measured by distance from the winning number, counted in both directions. Get it exactly and you take Division 1. Miss by three, and you're in Division 2. Miss by 40,000 and you're still in Division 6.

One detail catches people out: the numbers run in a loop. For Bullseye, 999999 sits directly next to 000000 - picture a clock face, where 12 is next to 1. So if the winning number is 000001 and your line was 999998, you're three away, not 999,997 away. Choosing a number near either end of the range costs you nothing.

Division Winning criteria Chance per line (1 in...) Average prize payout
1Match the winning number exactly1,000,000$180,000
21 - 5 numbers above or below100,000$10,000 (fixed)
36 - 50 numbers above or below11,111$500
451 - 500 numbers above or below1,111$100
5501 - 5,000 numbers above or below111$25
65,001 - 50,000 numbers above or below11Bonus ticket (fixed)

Worked example

Say the winning number is 685809. These are the ranges each division would cover that night:

Division Distance from winning number Below Above
21 - 5685804 - 685808685810 - 685814
36 - 50685759 - 685803685815 - 685859
451 - 500685309 - 685758685860 - 686309
5501 - 5,000680809 - 685308686310 - 690809
65,001 - 50,000635809 - 680808690810 - 735809

These figures are an illustration, not a real draw result.

The jackpot and Must Be Won draws

Division 1 starts at $100,000 and climbs by $5,000 for every day it goes unwon, up to $400,000. At that point the draw becomes Must Be Won: if nobody matches the number exactly, the whole Division 1 pool drops down and is shared equally among the winners in the next division that has any.

Division 2 works differently from the rest. It's a fixed $10,000 rather than a share of the pool, capped at a total of $250,000 across the draw - so if more than 25 lines land in Division 2 on the same night, that $250,000 is split between them.

Bullseye FAQ

Every day at 6 pm.
Within minutes of the draw - we publish the winning number and the full prize breakdown on this site shortly after 6 pm.
$2 per line, per draw. Multi-draw tickets work out cheaper: seven consecutive draws cost $10 rather than $14, and fourteen cost $20 rather than $28.
Choose any six-digit number from 000000 to 999999, or take a Dip and have one generated at random. Numbers shorter than six digits are padded with zeros at the front, so 8,941 is played as 008941.
From any Lotto NZ retailer, or online through MyLotto.
You must be 18 or older to buy a ticket, whether in-store or through MyLotto.
Lotto NZ sells tickets in New Zealand, in-store and through MyLotto. Third-party concierge and messenger services advertise NZ lottery tickets to overseas players, but they are independent businesses with no connection to Lotto NZ, and using one doesn't change the age requirement or any other eligibility rule.
Match the winning number exactly and you take Division 1. Miss it and you can still win: there are five more divisions, based on how close your number lands. Anything within 50,000 either side of the winning number wins something.
It makes no difference. The numbers run in a loop, so 999999 and 000000 sit next to each other - think of a clock face, where 12 is next to 1. If the winning number is 000001 and you played 999998, you're three numbers away and in Division 2.
Division 1 starts at $100,000 and grows by $5,000 every day it isn't won. At $400,000 it becomes a Must Be Won draw - if nobody matches the number exactly that night, the jackpot is shared among the next division that does have winners.
$10,000, and it's a fixed prize rather than a share of the pool. There is a cap: if the combined Division 2 payout in a single draw would exceed $250,000, the $250,000 is shared equally among those winners instead.
Yes, 12 months from the draw date. After that the prize is forfeited and the money goes into the prize reserve fund.
Lottery prizes are paid out tax-free in New Zealand. If you live overseas, your own country's tax rules may still apply.
Right here - we publish the winning number and prize breakdown every evening. They're also on the official Lotto NZ site.