"Lotto 1st Prize Winner Can't Buy a House"…Government Begins Collecting Opinions on Increasing Prize Money

Decision After Collecting Opinions Until the 25th of Next Month

The government has begun gathering public opinions on changing the size of Lotto prize money. This comes amid rising inflation and real estate prices, leading to citizens' complaints that "even winning the first prize in Lotto makes it difficult to afford a house in Seoul."

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Lottery Commission on the 24th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission started a survey on the Lotto first prize amount change on the public opinion platform the day before. This appears to be a follow-up to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok's statement at a press briefing in May, where he said, "Lotto is also an issue for gathering opinions. The Lottery Commission can hold public hearings to collect opinions."

The survey asks about ▲ Lotto purchase experience within the past year ▲ satisfaction with the current Lotto prize structure ▲ appropriate first prize amount and number of winners, among other questions. The Lottery Commission stated through the survey, "The average number of first prize winners is 12, and the average prize per person is about 2.1 billion KRW," and added, "Please share your opinions on the Lotto first prize amount." The survey will run until the 25th of next month.

Whether due to the recession or not, lottery sales are breaking records. Next year's projected sales are expected to reach 7.3 trillion won. A kiosk in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

The currently sold Lotto 6/45 involves choosing 6 numbers from 1 to 45. The first prize is awarded when all 6 numbers match, with odds of 1 in 8,145,060. Each game costs 1,000 KRW, and about 11 million tickets are sold per draw.

However, as the number of simultaneous winners has recently increased, public opinion has grown in favor of raising the prize money. In the 1128th Lotto draw on July 13, 63 people won the first prize simultaneously, resulting in a first prize amount of 419.93 million KRW. After taxes, the actual amount received was 314.35 million KRW.

Consequently, opinions have emerged that to increase the prize money, the odds of winning the first prize should be lowered or the game price should be raised.

According to the Seoul National University Statistical Research Institute, changing the method to selecting 6 numbers from 1 to 70 would reduce the odds of winning the first prize from 1 in 8,145,060 to 1 in 131,115,985, approximately 16 times lower.

The Korea Institute of Public Finance suggested raising the game price from 1,000 KRW to 1,207 KRW in its 2023 report titled "Determination of Lottery (Lotto 6/45) Price." The Lottery Commission plans to decide on whether to raise the prize money after collecting opinions through this survey.