Unclaimed Lottery Prizes Including Last Year's Lotto Total 53.8 Billion Won... Earnings Near 2 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Last year, the total lottery sales, including Lotto, increased by more than 9%, and the government's lottery revenue approached 2 trillion won. Unclaimed winnings also rose again, reaching 53.8 billion won.

According to data submitted by Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on the 2nd, the total lottery sales in 2019 were 4.739 billion tickets, a 9.2% increase compared to the previous year. Among these, Lotto tickets (online lottery) accounted for 4.318 billion tickets, representing 91.1% of total sales.

The sales amount of Lotto tickets reached 4.3181 trillion won, surpassing 4 trillion won for the first time, marking an all-time high, with an average price of 995.8 won per ticket.

Based on the adult population of 42,697,860 in 2019, this means that each person purchased approximately 101,131 won worth of Lotto tickets annually.

Last year, the total unclaimed lottery winnings amounted to 53.763 billion won, an increase of 3.624 billion won compared to 2018.

To protect the rights of lottery purchasers, the National Assembly amended the 'Lottery and Lottery Fund Act' in 2011, extending the statute of limitations for claiming lottery winnings from 180 days to 1 year.

As a result of this amendment, unclaimed winnings dropped sharply by 17.5 billion won to 24.1 billion won in 2011 compared to the previous year, but have since surged again, with around 50 billion won annually remaining unclaimed and reverting to the national treasury.

Representative Yang said, "The 2 trillion won in lottery revenue should be used where it is needed in people's lives, such as addressing low birth rates, housing stability, infant support, and elderly poverty, through the selection of unique purpose projects differentiated from the general national budget." She added, "Institutional improvements are also necessary to reduce the number of unclaimed winners who do not benefit despite winning."