Amid COVID-19 Recession... Lottery Sales in the First Half of This Year Reach Highest Since 2005

Lottery Sales Reach 2.6208 Trillion KRW in First Half of the Year... Up 11.1%

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[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Lottery sales in the first half of this year recorded the highest level since 2005. This indicates that more people have been buying lottery tickets amid economic difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's Lottery Commission on the 16th, total lottery sales in the first half of this year amounted to 2.6208 trillion KRW, an increase of 11.1% compared to the same period last year. This is the largest scale since the Lottery Commission began disclosing lottery business performance data for the first half of the year in 2005.

Lotteries tend to sell better during economic downturns. Especially in the first half of this year, it can be interpreted that more people purchased lottery tickets due to the recession caused by COVID-19.

By product, Lotto sales accounted for the largest share at approximately 2.3082 trillion KRW. This was followed by printed lottery tickets at 186.3 billion KRW, combined pension lottery tickets at 85.5 billion KRW, and electronic lottery tickets at 40.8 billion KRW.

Sales of pension lottery tickets surged 68.2% compared to the same period last year (50.8 billion KRW). This is attributed to the increase in the first prize of the pension lottery, which pays monthly winnings, from 5 million KRW to 7 million KRW in May this year.

A Lottery Commission official stated, "Lottery sales have increased in line with the trend of economic growth," adding, "The increase in prize money due to the restructuring of the pension lottery product has also heightened buyers' interest, contributing to the rise in sales."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.