Loto 7

Loto 7 sits at the top of Japan's family of numbers-selection lotteries, alongside Loto 6, Mini Loto, Numbers 3 and Numbers 4 and Bingo 5. It costs a little more per entry than its siblings and it is harder to win, but it pays out the biggest prizes of the group. It launched nationwide in April 2013 and has drawn every Friday since⁶.

Picking your seven numbers

The game itself is simple. You choose 7 different numbers from 1 to 37, and each entry costs JPY 300¹. At the draw, 7 main numbers and 2 bonus numbers are decided². The bonus numbers matter only for the 2nd and 6th prize tiers; every other tier is decided purely by how many main numbers you match².

If you do not want to choose numbers yourself, you can let the computer pick them for you, the option most players call Quick Pick. It is a standard purchase method across Japan's numbers lotteries and works the same way at booths, online and at machines⁷.

One rule worth knowing: you cannot win in two tiers with the same entry. If your numbers qualify for more than one tier, the higher tier takes priority². Prizes in each tier are divided among the winning entries in that tier, which is why the amounts move around from draw to draw⁸.

With 37 numbers and 7 picks, there are 10,295,472 possible combinations, which makes Loto 7 the hardest of Japan's numbers-selection lotteries to win at the top tier⁸. That difficulty is exactly why the top prize is so large.

What each tier pays and your chances

The prize table has six tiers. The headline figures:

The 1st prize of JPY 700,000,000 is the theoretical value when there is no carryover². The 2nd prize of about JPY 6,100,000 is likewise a theoretical figure². The lower tiers are not fixed amounts: because prizes are split among winners, the 6th prize in particular moves from draw to draw, unlike Loto 6 where the lowest tier is a fixed JPY 1,000⁸.

For perspective on the odds: about 1 in 42 entries wins the 6th prize, so small wins are common, while the 1st prize is a genuine long shot at 1 in 10,295,472².

How the top prize reaches JPY 1,200,000,000

Loto 7 has a carryover system. If a tier has no winners, or the prize amount would exceed the statutory limit, the money carries over to the next draw's 1st prize⁸. When a carryover is in play, the 1st prize can reach JPY 1,200,000,000¹.

The ceiling has moved over the years. When the game launched, the maximum was JPY 400,000,000 without a carryover and JPY 800,000,000 with one. From the draw of February 3, 2017, the carryover maximum rose to JPY 1,000,000,000, and from draw 613 on February 14, 2025, the current figures apply: JPY 700,000,000 without a carryover and JPY 1,200,000,000 with one⁸.

Carryovers can also lift the lower tiers. When one is active, prizes from the 2nd to the 6th tier can in theory reach up to JPY 1,000,000,000 as well, though in practice the big money concentrates at the top⁸.

The history books show how wide the range is. The very first draw paid a 1st prize of JPY 300,171,650⁸. In draw 7, after five consecutive carryovers, Loto 7 produced the first JPY 800,000,000 top prize in takarakuji history, and three winning entries hit it at once⁶. The record 1st prize is JPY 933,583,800, won in draw 310, and all three winning entries for that amount came from the same sales outlet⁸. At the other end, the smallest 1st prize ever paid was JPY 67,987,600 in draw 200⁸.

JPY 300 an entry, and your buying options

Each entry costs JPY 300¹. That sets Loto 7 apart from the other numbers lotteries: Loto 6, Mini Loto, Numbers and Bingo 5 all cost JPY 200 per entry⁹. You are paying a 50 percent premium for a shot at a much larger top prize.

You can buy entries in several ways:

• At a lottery booth (takarakuji uriba), the staffed stands found near stations and shopping streets¹
• Online through the official Takarakuji lottery site¹
• At ATMs of some banks¹
• At some convenience stores¹

The online route has one firm restriction: purchase from outside Japan is not possible, and that applies even to eligible buyers who are only temporarily abroad on a trip⁴. If you are a visitor to Japan, you can buy in person at booths and machines while you are in the country, but the online channel is closed to you until you are back on Japanese soil.

Internet sales of the Loto games began in January 2016, so the online channel is a well-established part of the game rather than a recent add-on⁶.

Where and when tickets are on sale

Loto 7 is on sale every day, in principle all year round, with the exception of the year-end and New Year period³. There is no long advance-sales window to worry about as with the Jumbo draws; the game simply runs continuously.

Sale hours differ between the channels: booths, the online site, ATMs and convenience stores each have their own operating times, so it is worth checking the official site for the current hours of the channel you plan to use³.

For context, the whole numbers-lottery family works the same way. Loto 6, for example, is likewise available year-round at booths, online, at some bank ATMs and at some convenience stores¹², and Bingo 5 at booths, the official site and some convenience stores¹¹. The Takarakuji Official Site also sells the full range of games, from Jumbo lottery tickets and Scratch cards through all the numbers games¹³.

Draw schedule and how the draw is run

Loto 7 is drawn every Friday¹. The drawing takes place at the Takarakuji Dream Hall in Kyobashi, Tokyo⁸, and it is streamed live on the internet, so you can watch the balls come out in real time¹.

Each draw settles 7 main numbers and 2 bonus numbers, and those nine numbers decide all six prize tiers². Compare that rhythm with Loto 6, which draws twice a week, every Monday and Thursday except around the New Year period¹²: Loto 7's single Friday draw is part of why its jackpots build slowly and its carryovers run long.

Checking results and claiming winnings

There are several ways to check whether your entry won:

• Online, 24 hours a day, on a PC or smartphone²
• In newspapers, the day after the draw²
• At a lottery booth, by handing your ticket to staff during the prize payment period²
• Through Mizuho Bank's winning number announcement service¹

How you collect your money depends on how you bought the ticket¹. For tickets bought online through the official lottery site, winnings are automatically transferred to the registered bank account for receiving prizes¹⁴. If you bought through an internet banking institution's own lottery sales site, the winnings go automatically into the account you used to buy the ticket¹⁴.

For tickets bought at a booth or convenience store, you collect winnings at a lottery stand or at Mizuho Bank, depending on the amount¹⁴. Larger prizes mean a bank visit; smaller ones can be settled on the spot at the booth. Keep the physical ticket safe either way, because it is the only proof of your entry.

Tax and other rules to know

Here is the part that surprises many players: Loto 7 winnings are not taxed. Like other takarakuji lotteries and the sports promotion lottery, Loto 7 prizes are exempt from income tax and resident tax under the Public Lottery Tickets Act, so the winner keeps the full amount⁵. On a JPY 1,200,000,000 top prize, the take-home is the full JPY 1,200,000,000⁵.

The prize mechanics are easier to see on the lower tiers, where the amounts are typical figures rather than set payouts. Matching 6 main numbers pays about JPY 500,000, matching 5 pays about JPY 6,500, matching 4 pays about JPY 1,400, and matching 3 plus a bonus number pays about JPY 1,000, while 2nd prize is about JPY 6,100,000 as a theoretical value⁵. Amounts in every tier vary with each draw's total sales and the number of winning entries, and fractions under JPY 100 are rounded down. If you want the broader picture across gambling in Japan, see tax on gambling winnings in Japan.

A few other rules round out the picture:

• No duplicate wins across tiers; the higher tier always takes priority²
• The 6th prize is not a fixed amount and varies by draw⁸
• Online purchase is limited to buyers inside Japan⁴
• Sales pause during the year-end and New Year period³

Loto 7 is one game among many on Japan's gambling menu. If you are new to the country's lottery system, start with the Japan lottery for the full landscape, or see gambling in Japan for everything from pachinko to horse racing.