New Zealand boy, 3, becomes youngest lottery millionaire after scooping Bonus Bonds jackpot

Overnight millionaire: The boy won the top prize in the lottery game
Shutterstock / Casper1774 Studio
Chloe Chaplain30 September 2016

A three-year-old boy has become an overnight millionaire after scooping the jackpot in a cash lottery game.

The toddler, from New Zealand, had just returned from a holiday with his family when his parents got the call to say he won NZ$1million - more than £560,000 - in the Government-run game.

He is the youngest ever winner of the ‘Bonus Bonds’ trust scheme – the New Zealand equivalent of the UK Premium Bonds.

His parents told the New Zealand Herald that they were “pumping the air” with glee when they were told their son had beaten the one-in-35,000 odds to win.

“My husband was literally pumping the air when he was on the phone," the boy's mother said.

"As soon as he got off and told me, we were running around, so thrilled. It was definitely a jump-up-and-down moment.

"We always thought our boy was really special, he was born on Christmas Day, which is quite unique. And now he's the youngest Bonus Bonds winner to date," she added.

The couple, from Christchurch, had set up their son's Bonus Bonds account when he was born and bought $250 worth of units for him.

Savers are encouraged to invest money into the fund, with each New Zealand dollar equating to one unit or 'bond'.

The more units people buy the more chance they have of scooping a prize in the monthly lottery draw. Around one third of New Zealanders own units in the trust, which pays out $7.9million a month in prizes up to $1million.

The oldest Bonus Bonds million-dollar winner is 92-years-old.

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