Six big instant winners have been found in Lotto's 25th Birthday celebrations.

The first winner of $25,000 was won at New World Carterton in Wellington, the second was won at Gallaughers Supermarket of Amberley in Canterbury and a third prize was won at Take Note in Ruakaka. The fourth was won at Bishopdale New World in Christchurch, and a fifth at Centre City New World in Dunedin.

An sixth instant prize winner has been announced, landing their $25,000 win at Wakatipu New World in Queenstown.

NZ Lotteries will be giving away an extra $7.5 million in a special promotion to celebrate Lotto's 25th birthday, says Chief Executive Wayne Pickup.

“We wanted to do something very special for our big birthday involving all of our players, so we are holding a two week promotion where every Lotto ticket will be in to win over 1000 extra prizes worth $7.5 million, plus there will be 25 instant prizes of $25,000 to be won,” says Mr Pickup.

“We believe it’s the biggest-ever promotion in New Zealand history, with a total of $8 million up for grabs.”

The promotion will be held from Sunday 12 August to 7.00 pm on Saturday 25 August. All Lotto tickets purchased during this period will receive an extra promotional voucher entry into the special prize draw.

There are three top prizes of $1 million to be won, plus more than a thousand other prizes ranging from $2,500 to $100,000.

In addition, there are 25 ‘instant’ prizes of $25,000 to be won on the spot. These prizes can be struck at any time during the promotional period, in retail stores and online.

Lotto is New Zealand’s favourite game, played by millions of kiwis each year. Since Lotto’s first draw in August 1987 NZ Lotteries has made 400 overnight millionaires and has given away $7 billion in prizes to more than 300 million winners.

“In 1987, NZ Lotteries was established to raise funds for community benefit and that remains our core purpose today. Over the past 25 years we are proud to have transferred more than $3 billion to the Lottery Grants Board – these funds have been used to support local community, sporting, arts, recreation, heritage, cultural and environment groups throughout New Zealand,” Mr Pickup said.