'Mobile Lottery' Falters After 5 Months... Zero First-Prize Winners for Six Consecutive Draws

No First-Prize Winners in Recent Draws, Second-Prize Winners Also Only 3%

Early Phase Saw Over 6%, But Mean Reversion and Declining Sales Drive Down Share

The "mobile lottery" is facing sluggish sales just five months after its introduction, with the business faltering. Recently, for six consecutive draws, there have been no first-prize winners through the online channels, which include both mobile and PC—a phenomenon being called a "disappearance of winners." The expansion plan for mobile lottery sales, which was announced at the time of its launch, has also become uncertain.

A person purchasing a lottery ticket via mobile. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the Lottery Commission under the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other sources on July 7, there have been no first-prize winners through online lottery sales channels—including both mobile and PC—for six consecutive draws, including the most recent 1,231st draw. This contrasts sharply with the 73 first-prize winners who purchased their tickets at offline retailers nationwide during the same period. For the same period, the share of second-prize winners from online channels amounted to only about 3% (15 out of 499 winners).

In the first four draws (from the 1,211st to the 1,214th) after mobile sales began on February 9, the proportion of first- and second-prize winners from online channels accounted for 6.28% of the total. However, when looking at the cumulative data from the 1,211th to the 1,231st draws, this proportion has dropped to an average of 3.96%. Although this is still higher than the average of 2.68% for the 52 draws before the introduction of mobile sales, the initial excitement has clearly faded.

This trend is seen as a result of a "mean reversion" effect that naturally occurs as the number of draws increases, coupled with a recent decline in online sales. The proportion of winners inevitably converges toward the proportion of sales as the number of draws rises. Currently, online sales (mobile plus PC) are capped at about 6 billion won per draw, representing 5% of last year’s total sales. In the early stages of the mobile launch, strong initial demand led to the 6 billion won “cap” being reached three times. However, according to authorities, sales have recently failed to reach this cap at all and are showing a steady decline.

The decline in mobile lottery popularity is attributed to the unique "purchase inertia" of lottery consumers. There is a strong tendency to buy lottery tickets as part of daily routines, such as during commutes, and a strong preference for so-called "lucky lottery outlets." Many consumers who briefly tried mobile purchases are returning to offline retailers, so the hoped-for effect of attracting new users has not materialized in any meaningful way.

The government plans to make a decision on whether to expand mobile sales after completing this year’s pilot operation. At the current pace, it is highly likely that mobile sales will be excluded from consideration when setting the annual lottery issuance plan or increasing the total issuance volume. However, regardless of sales performance, the government will continue to implement the coexistence measures promised at the time of mobile introduction to protect offline retailers. A government official stated, “The coexistence plan is still being internally coordinated and should be finalized by the end of this month.”

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