Asian Lotteries Compared

Lotteries covered in this comparison

This page compares the official lottery games you can actually walk up and buy in Asia's main jurisdictions. The lineup is deliberately broad, because "lottery" means very different things in different countries.

In Singapore, the state operator Singapore Pools runs TOTO, 4D and the Singapore Sweep, alongside football and horseracing betting⁶. In Japan, the sports lottery toto and its BIG family are football prediction pools, while Loto 6 and the Jumbo Lottery are number and ticket draws run by different official bodies⁷. Thailand's Government Lottery Office sells pre-printed tickets through a nationwide network of agents⁸. Vietnam's Vietlott runs Power 6/55, a pick-6 game with a bonus number⁴. Hong Kong has a single game, the Mark Six, run by the Jockey Club⁵. South Korea's lottery system covers draw-type, instant and online games sold at retail outlets⁹. China's state lotteries span lotto, numbers, sports guessing, traditional, instant, video and keno types¹⁰, with Super Lotto as the flagship draw game.

A quick orientation on the three big families:

• Number-pick games (TOTO, Power 6/55, Loto 6, Mark Six): you choose numbers, a draw decides winners, and jackpots roll over when nobody hits them.
• Pre-printed ticket lotteries (Thai government lottery, Singapore Sweep, Japan's Jumbo): you buy a ticket with a fixed number already on it.
• Sports pools (toto, BIG): you predict football results rather than picking numbers.

If you want the mechanics of any one family in depth, see how lotteries work and pick-6 lotto games in Asia.

Singapore TOTO and 4D: bet types, prices and draw days

Singapore Pools is the single legal lottery operator, and its two main draw games work very differently.

TOTO is a pick-6 game using numbers 1 to 49. Draws are held Monday and Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm, and the next jackpot is listed at an estimated SGD 1,000,000¹. Bet types include Ordinary (6 numbers), System 7 through System 12 (7 to 12 numbers, covering every combination), System Roll (5 numbers plus a rolling number that stands in for the rest), iTOTO, Group TOTO and TOTO MATCH¹. Online through a Singapore Pools Account, you can place Self Pick bets for Ordinary, System Entry and System Roll for the current draw, plus Quick Pick bets by bet type or amount¹¹.

4D is a four-digit game. You pick a 4-digit number and choose a bet type: Ordinary, System Bet, iBet or 4D Roll¹². Draws are held on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 pm¹². The core payout is simple: a Big bet on the first prize pays SGD 2,000 for every SGD 1 wagered¹². For how the bet types differ, see how 4D works.

Singapore Sweep is the odd one out: a 7-digit sweepstakes where you buy a ticket carrying a number between 1000000 and 4499999. You can either take a fully random number or select the last 4 digits with the first 3 generated randomly¹³. Tickets go on sale from the end of the previous draw until half an hour before the next one¹³.

Who may play matters here: a Singapore Pools Account, which you need for online betting, is open only to people meeting the operator's identity and residency checks, while anyone can buy at a physical outlet with cash. If you are visiting, the outlet counter is your route in.

Japan's toto and Loto 6: jackpots up to JPY 500,000,000 with carryover

Japan runs two separate lottery worlds, and it helps to keep them apart.

toto is a football prediction pool. You predict the 90-minute result (home win "1", loss "2", or draw/extra time "0") for each of 13 designated matches, at JPY 100 per entry⁷. The prize structure is steep and simple: 1st prize requires all 13 correct, 2nd prize allows one miss, 3rd prize allows two⁷. The odds reflect that: about 1 in 1,600,000 for the top tier, 1 in 60,000 for second and 1 in 5,000 for third¹⁴. Half of sales goes to prizes, split 70/15/15 across the three tiers⁷. The normal first-prize cap is JPY 100,000,000, rising to JPY 500,000,000 when a carryover occurs¹⁵. A carryover happens when there is no first-prize winner, or the dividend is not fully paid out; the money rolls into the next round's first-prize pool, which is the previous carryover plus 35% of the current round's sales⁸. If that pool reaches JPY 1,500,000,000, up to three winners could each take JPY 500,000,000⁸. At least 9 of the 13 matches must go ahead, with up to 4 cancellations tolerated⁷.

The BIG family sits alongside toto and also runs on football results, but with bigger caps.

BIG's prize fund splits 60% to first, 15% to second, 15% to third and 10% to fourth¹⁸.

Loto 6 is the classic number game: pick 6 from 43, drawn every Monday and Thursday¹⁹. The theoretical first prize is around JPY 200,000,000, but with a carryover the top prize can reach JPY 600,000,000²⁰. Second prize runs about JPY 10,000,000²⁰.

Jumbo Lottery is the seasonal pre-printed draw, sold at street lottery stands across Japan, with products and hours varying by office²¹. The Halloween Jumbo's first-prize adjacent awards alone pay JPY 100,000,000 across 24 tickets²¹.

Thailand's government lottery: draws on the 1st and 16th

Thailand's government lottery is a pre-printed ticket draw held twice a month, on the 1st and 16th of each month. Each set of tickets carries 14,168 prizes totaling THB 48,000,000 when all tickets are sold³. If a set does not sell out, each prize amount is reduced proportionally²².

The prize ladder is deep. The third prize pays THB 80,000 per set³. Below the main prizes sit the popular "front three-digit" and "last three-digit" prizes: the front three-digit prize pays THB 4,000 with 2,000 prizes per set, drawn twice, and the last three-digit prize also pays THB 4,000³. The last two-digit prize pays THB 10,000, drawn once³. There is also the L6 lottery, whose adjacent first-prize awards pay THB 100,000 each for two prizes²³.

Tickets reach the public through two systems: a distributor agent network of 31 million tickets per draw, and an advance purchase-booking system of up to 69 million tickets²⁴. Quota agents in Bangkok collect their tickets at the GLO office at Don Mueang, provincial agents at provincial halls or treasury offices, and purchase or booking buyers receive tickets through Thailand Post at post offices nationwide²⁴. For what a ticket costs, see Thai lottery ticket prices.

Two claim windows matter. Government lottery winners have 2 years from the draw date; after that, the money goes to state revenue³. The separate Thai charity lottery gives winners 10 years, and its results are checked against the government lottery results of the same draw²².

Hong Kong's Mark Six: draw schedule and recent cancellations

The Mark Six is Hong Kong's only lottery, run by the Jockey Club with a HKD 10 bet unit. Its regular schedule is draws on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and since September 2004 additional draws have been held on Saturdays or Sundays without horse racing, averaging three draws a week²⁵. Some Golden Mark Six draws, the special snowballed editions, are held on Fridays²⁵.

The prize structure has six tiers. At the bottom, the Sixth Prize goes to each entry matching any three drawn numbers plus the special number⁵. One quirk of the payout math: if a prize amount is not an integral multiple of the bet unit, it is rounded down to the nearest multiple, and the surplus goes into the Golden Bauhinia snowball pool⁵.

Cancellations do happen, and September 2026 showed how. The Mid-Autumn Golden Mark Six on September 26 produced no first prize winner, rolling about HKD 74 million into the October 3 draw, which carried an estimated first prize fund of HKD 98 million for a single HKD 10 ticket. The Jockey Club then canceled the Tuesday September 29 draw to give customers more time to buy tickets for the October 3 draw instead. Nothing is lost when this happens; sales simply continue to the next date.

Where you can buy tickets: shops, convenience stores and online accounts

How you buy depends heavily on where you are.

Japan has the widest choice. Loto 6 tickets are sold at lottery booths, online, at ATMs of some banks, and at some convenience stores²⁰. BIG is available over the internet, at lottery counters, and at convenience stores handling the sports lottery²⁶. toto can be bought at lottery shops displaying the sports toto logo, where you fill in a marksheet and hand it to staff²⁷; you cannot reserve or buy it online from the official shop channel, though the official sports lottery website and partner sites such as Rakuten Bank, PayPay Bank, Yahoo! toto, Rakuten toto, SMBC toto, au PAY toto and others do sell online⁸. Sales close at 12:00 on the final sales day at booths and 11:30 at convenience store terminals²⁸. A "Rakuraku Purchase" standing-order service covers BIG, MEGA BIG, 100-yen BIG, BIG1000, mini BIG, toto, mini toto and totoGOAL3²⁹.

Singapore splits between outlets, which anyone can walk into, and the online Singapore Pools Account, which covers TOTO, 4D, football, motor racing and horse racing³⁰.

Thailand runs on agents and the post office network described above²⁴.

Vietnam sells Power 6/55 at Vietlott points of sale, with mobile play requiring both a betting account and a prize-receiving account⁴. You can check tickets at checkwin machines at points of sale or on the Vietlott SMS app⁴.

South Korea sells online and printed lotteries at retail outlets, with an outlet finder at www.dhlottery.co.kr, and electronic lotteries through the official electronic lottery sales site⁹.

China's Super Lotto and other games are sold through the state welfare and sports lottery networks. For more on channels across the region, see where to buy lottery tickets in Asia and buying official lottery tickets online.

How jackpots, carryovers and prize tiers differ

The three big structural differences across Asia's lotteries are caps, carryovers and tier design.

Caps. Japan's games have hard ceilings: toto at JPY 500,000,000, BIG at JPY 600,000,000, MEGA BIG at JPY 1,200,000,000, all with carryover¹⁵. China's Super Lotto first prize is a floating prize where a 2-yuan basic bet can win at most 10,000,000 yuan³¹. Singapore's TOTO jackpot floats with sales and rollovers, listed at an estimated SGD 1,000,000 for the next draw¹.

Carryovers. Japan's toto has the clearest formula: previous carryover plus 35% of current sales equals the first-prize pool⁸. Hong Kong's Mark Six snowballs through the Golden Bauhinia pool, which also absorbs the rounding surplus from every tier⁵. For the mechanics generally, see jackpot rollovers and snowballs.

Tiers. China's Super Lotto has nine prize tiers, with first and second prizes pari-mutuel and third through ninth fixed; the third prize pays 5,000 yuan on a basic bet and 6,666 yuan on the additional bet³¹. Japan's toto has just three tiers with a 70/15/15 split of the 50% payout⁷. Thailand's government lottery is not pari-mutuel at all: fixed prizes per set, reduced proportionally if tickets do not sell out²².

Vietnam's bao system deserves a mention because it changes both cost and coverage. Bao play means choosing more than 6 numbers: 7 numbers gives 7 entries, 9 gives 84, 12 gives 924, and 15 numbers gives 5,005 entries⁴. Bao 5 works in reverse: you pick 5 numbers and software picks the 6th from the remaining 50, creating 50 entries⁴. This is the same logic as system bets elsewhere in Asia.

Claiming prizes: deadlines, stamp duty and payout methods

Claim rules vary more than anything else, so check the deadline for your game before you tuck a ticket away.

Singapore. Prizes can be claimed from the day after the draw, during outlet opening hours, and must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date, weekends and public holidays included³³. After 6:05 pm, prizes cannot be claimed the same day on a multi-draw ticket with undrawn dates. Check prizes at the head office require a visit Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, excluding public holidays³³.

Japan. toto winnings from shop purchases are paid in cash at shinkin banks handling the sports lottery, some lottery shops, and 7-Eleven; they are not transferred automatically³⁴. For winnings over JPY 500,000, you complete procedures at a credit union and either collect at the counter 12 business days later or have the money transferred to a designated account³⁴. Online purchases are different: winnings are transferred automatically to your account⁸. In-store result checking is only at lottery shops and 7-Eleven⁸.

Thailand. Winners have 2 years from the draw date for the government lottery and 10 years for the charity lottery³. Stamp duty of THB 1 per THB 200 of prize money, or part of THB 200, is deducted when claiming²². At the claim office, you confirm the payout details on screen, including name, prize amount and the duty, with an electronic signature before payment³⁵. Payment is by check or bank transfer, with bank name and account number required for transfers³⁵. Prize money goes to the holder of the winning ticket who presents it²².

South Korea. Draw-type printed, electronic, online and combined lotteries must be claimed within 1 year of the payment start date; instant printed and electronic lotteries within 1 year of the end of the sales period⁹. Prizes of KRW 100,000,000 or more in the printed/electronic combined lottery require identity verification at Donghaeng Lottery Co. before payment at a designated NH Nonghyup Bank branch⁹.

China. Super Lotto winners must claim within 60 natural days of the draw at designated locations; unclaimed prizes go to the lottery public welfare fund³².

Vietnam. Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese holding foreign passports may receive winnings and transfer or carry them abroad in foreign currency under Vietnamese foreign exchange rules³⁶. Power 6/55 play is open to Vietnamese citizens, overseas Vietnamese and foreigners legally entering Vietnam, aged 18 or over⁴.

For a fuller walkthrough, see how to claim a lottery prize in Asia and unclaimed lottery prizes.