Lottery Sales Grow as Economic Woes Deepen

Published on 2020/03/15 | Source

Lottery sales surpassed W4 trillion last year to reach a record high (US$1=W1,219).

The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday said lottery sales reached W4.32 trillion, up 8.8 percent from the previous year. They have been growing each year since 2008.

There were 507 jackpot winners last year with prize money totaling W1.04 trillion. But there was a big difference in terms of the money they pocketed.

The top jackpot winner brought home W4.9 billion in the June draw but only W1.1 billion in the September draw because it was shared between 19 people.

Experts say rising lottery sales reflect the ongoing economic slump, when more people turn to Lady Luck as honest toil fails to pay off.

Korea's economy grew just two percent last year, the slowest since 2009 just after the global financial crisis.

But the ministry said, "It is difficult to find a particular correlation between lottery sales and the economic situation. It seems sales grew along with a rise in online sites that sell them since December 2018".