[Report] "Would They Really Manipulate?" Will the 'Lotto Winning Manipulation' Suspicion Disappear?

Lotto Draw 1057, 664 Second-Prize Winners
103 Tickets Sold at One Outlet
Lottery Commission to Hold 'Public Viewing Broadcast' on June 10

"Because people trust and spend money on it, it shouldn't be manipulated."

As suspicions of so-called 'Lotto drawing manipulation' have surfaced, lottery buyers are saying that the drawing might actually be rigged. On the afternoon of the 24th, Kim, a man in his 50s whom we met at a lotto sales store in Seoul, also said, "(Manipulation) is impossible."

Earlier, in the 1057th Lotto drawing held on March 4, there were as many as 664 second-place winners. Among them, 103 winners all came from one sales point in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, which further fueled the lotto drawing manipulation theory. In response, the Lottery Commission (Lotto Commission) stated, "The probability of winning second place is 1 in 1.36 million, and considering that 112.52 million tickets were sold for the 1057th drawing, if buyers select number combinations evenly, about 83 winners would occur." However, the controversy did not easily subside. Eventually, on June 10, they announced they would hold a 'Public Lotto Drawing Live Broadcast' to resolve public distrust.

Lotto Sales Office. Photo by Han Seung-gon.

However, it is doubtful that the 'Lotto manipulation theory' will fade quickly. Kim Minseong, a company employee in his 40s, said, "Actually, this isn't the first time the lotto manipulation theory has come up," adding, "Even if the Lotto Commission does a live broadcast, I don't think many people will trust it." Self-employed Choi Hyungseong (43) said, "Honestly, manipulation rumors have come up before," and added, "I think we need to watch this broadcast."

This is not the first time lotto drawing manipulation suspicions have arisen. In June 2022, after the lotto drawing results showed that the number of first-place winners suddenly increased from 2 to 50 within a week, manipulation controversies arose mainly online. At that time, Donghaeng Lotto dismissed it as a "coincidence." According to Donghaeng Lotto, in the 1019th lotto drawing, there were 50 first-place winners who matched all six numbers. Among them, 42 had manually selected their numbers. Citizens pointed out online that the winning numbers for that drawing were numbers that had frequently appeared as winning numbers in the past.

The winning numbers at that time were 1, 4, 13, 17, 34, 39, with the bonus number 6. According to the statistics of winning numbers published on the Donghaeng Lotto website, number 1 appeared 174 times (3rd place overall), 4 appeared 168 times (7th place), 13 appeared 172 times (5th place), 17 appeared 172 times (5th place), 34 appeared 177 times (2nd place), and 39 appeared 168 times (7th place) as first-place winning numbers. A Donghaeng Lotto official said, "The probability of winning the lotto itself is 1 in 8.14 million," adding, "There can be many or few first-place winners. It can be seen as a coincidence."

A lottery ticket sales store located on Wangsan-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, where 103 second-prize lottery winners emerged. Photo by Han Seung-gon

Meanwhile, regarding the lotto that raised manipulation suspicions due to a flood of winners, the Lotto Commission announced a public viewing broadcast. MBC's 'Live Broadcast Happy Dream Lotto 6/45' announced that they are recruiting audience members for the drawing broadcast until the 26th, stating, "We will hold a 'Public Lotto Drawing Live Broadcast' to promote fairness and transparency of the lottery broadcast drawing through active communication with the public." They added, "The drawing broadcast is conducted fairly with the presence of police officers, broadcast staff, and Donghaeng Lotto officials according to relevant regulations," and explained, "Viewing the drawing broadcast is part of the preparation process to confirm that the drawing broadcast is conducted through a fair procedure."

The 'Public Lotto Drawing Live Broadcast' will be held on June 10. Although about 20 members of the public have attended the weekly lotto drawing broadcasts, this is the first time since the lotto issuance in December 2002 that a large number of people have been invited to publicly reveal the drawing site.