Oz Lotto's $70M jackpot was won by 15 strangers with one ticket

They walked into different stores, bought the same syndicate share, and now they're forever linked.

Todd Betzold

News writer

Published Apr 15, 2025, 15:25 EDT

One lottery ticket. Fifteen strangers. Seventy million dollars. It sounds like the setup for a movie — or at least a very awkward group chat.

But in Queensland, just days before Easter, that's exactly what happened. A single Oz Lotto ticket purchased as part of a syndicate ended up matching all seven numbers in the $70 million jackpot draw, instantly turning a group of everyday Aussies into multimillionaires.

One ticket, 15 winners

The Oz Lotto jackpot had climbed to $70 million for the April 15 drawing. The winning numbers for that drawing — draw number 1626 — were 14, 32, 13, 29, 41, 23, and 8, with supplementary numbers of 43, 4, and 40.

Lottery officials announced that one lucky ticket purchased in Queensland happened to match all seven of the main numbers to win the jackpot. However, that jackpot would be split by 15 people who each bought shares in the syndicate at different newsagents from Townsville to the Gold Coast.

Yes, you read that correctly. Fifteen complete strangers all owned a part of the winning ticket, so now they are being brought together to share the $70 million just days before the Easter holiday weekend.

While it was a single ticket winning the jackpot, it wasn't a single person winning it all. If the winner had been a single person rather than a syndicate, that person would have been Oz Lotto's second-biggest individual lottery winner. The largest single prize winner was $100 million won back in February.

Waking up as a millionaire

For lottery winners in Australia, lottery officials actually call them to notify them of their win. While some of the 15 winners have yet to hear about the good news, others have already been contacted and had mixed emotions.

A Bribie Island man told lottery officials, “I was just asleep! Bloody hell!” Then, adding, “Oh my God, that's so good. This changes our lives. We've been trying to get our first home, so this will do that.”

Another winner actually tried to buy another share into the syndicate, but it had sold out. However, he told lottery officials he's still happy with his $4.7 million.

Anna Hobdell, spokesperson for The Lott, said, "It's remarkable that 15 Queenslanders became multimillionaires tonight. While we've tried contacting those who registered their tickets to The Lott Members Club, some may have yet to discover the good news. We're encouraging anyone who purchased a syndicate entry in Queensland for tonight's Oz Lotto draw to check their tickets as soon as possible."

What is a syndicate and newsagent?

For people in the United States, a syndicate is basically a lottery pool. In Australia, a syndicate is a group of people who play the lottery together. They share the cost of the tickets and any winnings they may collect.

These people are pooling their money together, which allows them to play more games or buy more tickets. This will then increase their chances of winning, which happened in this case.

Lottery pools are often done with friends or coworkers. However, a syndicate can be joined by anyone old enough to buy lottery tickets in Australia. They are open to the public and available to join until all the slots are filled.

As far as newsagents go, these are basically convenience stores that are lottery retailers. Newsagents in Australia typically sell newspapers, magazines, and similar publications. They also sell greeting cards, stationery, and lottery products.

For this winning syndicate, the winning entries were bought at the following newsagents: