Lottery Sales Increase Amid Recession... Next Year's Expected Amount 7.3 Trillion Won, Another Record High

Deliberation and Resolution of the 2024 Lottery Issuance Plan
Fines Imposed for Major Lottery Accidents

Lottery sales next year are expected to reach a record high of 7.3 trillion won. This figure was estimated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Lottery Commission based on recent lottery sales, confirming the common belief that lottery sales increase during economic hardships.

On the 25th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held the 158th Lottery Commission meeting chaired by Second Vice Minister Choi Sang-dae, where they reviewed and approved the "2024 Lottery Issuance Plan" containing these details. According to the Lottery and Lottery Fund Act, the lottery issuance plan specifies the types and names of lotteries to be issued next year, the issuance amount, and the expected sales amount.

A Lottery Commission official explained, "At the meeting, it was decided to maintain the existing system regarding the types and names of lotteries and the prize structure to ensure sound management. The expected sales amount for next year was calculated by considering this year's estimated sales amount and the average sales growth rate over the three years before COVID-19, taking into account the rapid recovery of other gambling industries' sales."

Accordingly, the expected lottery sales amount for next year is projected to be 7.2918 trillion won, an increase of 548.9 billion won (8.1%) compared to this year's 6.7429 trillion won. By product, online lottery (Lotto) is expected to reach 5.972 trillion won, printed lottery 839.3 billion won, combined lottery (Pension Lottery 720+) 318.9 billion won, and electronic lottery 161.7 billion won.

Lottery sales have been increasing every year. From 4.8 trillion won in 2019, sales rose to 5.4 trillion won in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged. At that time, South Korea's economic growth rate was -0.7%, but lottery sales surged by 12.5% compared to the previous year. Sales continued to increase to 6 trillion won in 2021 and 6.4 trillion won in 2022.

The Lottery Commission expects that if lottery sales proceed as planned next year, lottery revenue used as funding for lottery fund projects in 2024 will increase by 228.7 billion won to 2.9684 trillion won compared to this year. Lottery revenue is calculated by subtracting prize money and lottery distribution costs (such as consignment fees, sales commissions, and printing costs) from lottery sales.

On the same day, the Lottery Commission also discussed measures to prevent and respond to lottery incidents. First, to prevent lottery incidents by enhancing the responsibility and vigilance of consignment operators, it was decided to increase the penalty levels imposed on them. Until now, fines of 2 million won for the first offense, 5 million won for the second, and 10 million won for the third have been imposed for lottery incidents. Going forward, for serious incidents such as false reporting, penalties will be calculated based on a fine standard of 30 million won. Additionally, if a consignment operator causes three or more serious incidents for the same reason, the consignment contract may be terminated.

Along with this, the consignment operators' "Incident Response Manual" will be improved and reinforced, and a verification advisory group composed of external experts will be operated continuously to verify whether the consignment operators' incident handling is appropriate.

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