Pick-6 Lotto Games in Asia

The pick-6 games covered

Several of Asia's biggest lotteries share one format: you pick six numbers, a machine draws six, and the closer you get, the more you win. But the details vary a lot from country to country, and those details are what shape your odds and your prize.

The games compared here are:

• Loto 6 (Japan): pick 6 different numbers from 1 to 43. It is a number-selection lottery run under Japan's takarakuji system¹.
• Loto 7 (Japan): the sister game to Loto 6, which picks 7 numbers from a smaller pool of 1 to 37, plus bonus numbers. An entry costs JPY 300².
• Mark Six (Hong Kong): a single entry means selecting six numbers from 49, and each single entry is one chance. A multiple entry lets you pick at least seven numbers from 49, and the system forms every possible six-number combination from them⁵.
• TOTO (Singapore): a lottery where you pick 6 numbers plus 1 additional number out of 49⁶.
• Mega 6/45 (Vietnam): choose 6 numbers from 01 to 45, with an entry costing VND 10,000⁷.
• Power 6/55 (Vietnam): choose 6 numbers from 01 to 55, also VND 10,000 an entry, with a bonus number drawn after the main six³.
• Philippine lotto draws: the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office runs several six-number games, including Lotto 6/42, where you select six numbers from 1 to 42 in any order, and Grand Lotto 6/55. Lucky Pick lets the machine generate your numbers for you⁸.

If you want to see how these fit among all the other lottery types on the continent, from 4D to scratch cards, our overview of lotteries in Asia covers the whole landscape.

Number pools compared

The single biggest difference between these games is the size of the number pool, because it is the pool that determines how many combinations are possible and therefore how hard the jackpot is to hit.

Loto 6 sits at the friendly end: 6 different numbers from a pool running only from 1 to 43¹. Mega 6/45 nudges the pool to 45 numbers⁷, and Lotto 6/42 in the Philippines is even a touch smaller at 42⁸.

At the wide end, both Power 6/55 and Grand Lotto 6/55 ask you to find six winning numbers out of 55³. Mark Six and TOTO sit in the middle with 49 numbers, the same pool size used by many of the world's classic lotto games⁵.

The practical effect is simple: the smaller the pool, the better your chance of matching all six, and the more entries you need to cover a meaningful share of the combinations in a big-pool game. Our page on lottery odds breaks this down game by game.

Bonus balls: which games have one and what it wins

Not every six-number game stops at six drawn numbers. Some draw an extra one, and what that extra ball does depends entirely on the game.

Power 6/55 has the most elaborate bonus ball in the region. After the first six balls are drawn, a special number is selected from the 49 balls remaining in the drum. That bonus number determines the Jackpot 2 winning set, so the game effectively has two jackpots: Jackpot 1 for matching all six main numbers, and Jackpot 2 for matching five main numbers plus the bonus³.

TOTO in Singapore adds an additional number to every draw. The game is defined as picking 6 numbers and 1 additional number out of 49, and that seventh ball is what separates the top prize groups from each other⁶.

Loto 7 in Japan draws two bonus numbers. They are used only to decide the 2nd and 6th prize wins, nothing else, so if you match the main seven numbers the bonus balls are irrelevant to you⁹.

Loto 6, Mark Six, Mega 6/45 and the Philippine lotto draws have no bonus ball at all. In Loto 6, only the six main numbers count toward your prize¹. Mark Six entries are judged purely on the six numbers drawn⁵.

Prize tiers: how many ways to win in each game

Matching all six numbers is the headline, but every one of these games pays something at lower tiers too, and the number of tiers varies.

Loto 6 has five prize tiers, with fixed or near-fixed amounts at the bottom:

Power 6/55 has five prize tiers, from the two jackpots at the top down to the lower tiers for partial matches. One rule worth knowing: a winner receives only the highest prize tier they qualify for, not several at once, and the jackpot is divided equally by share value among multiple winners³.

TOTO's prize structure is built around groups. The additional number splits near-misses into separate groups, so matching five main numbers plus the additional number is a different group from matching five without it. Bet types include Ordinary, System 7 through System 12, System Roll, iTOTO, Group TOTO and TOTO MATCH¹⁰.

The Philippine games pay shared fixed amounts below the jackpot. In Grand Lotto 6/55, the first prize for 6 out of 6 starts at PHP 45 million, the second prize for 5 out of 6 is PHP 1.4 million shared among winners, and the third prize for 4 out of 6 is PHP 1.3 million shared. Lotto 6/42 works the same way at PHP 10 million minimum for the jackpot, PHP 1.1 million shared and PHP 1.0 million shared⁸.

Mark Six and Mega 6/45 also pay across multiple tiers, with the jackpot shared among winners and smaller fixed prizes further down.

Ticket prices and entry costs

Entry costs are low everywhere, but the range across the region is wide when you look at local currency.

Loto 6 costs JPY 200 for one entry, and it is on sale in principle all year round¹¹. Loto 7, which picks 7 numbers from a smaller pool of 1 to 37, plus bonus numbers, costs JPY 300².

In Vietnam, both Mega 6/45 and Power 6/55 entries cost VND 10,000, and the operators pitch them the same way: with only VND 10,000 you choose your six numbers for a shot at the jackpot⁷.

Beyond the basic single entry, every game offers ways to buy more combinations on one ticket. Mark Six multiple entries require at least seven numbers from 49, and the system generates every six-number combination within your selection⁵. Vietlott calls its version Bao: in Power 6/55's Bao 5, you pick 5 numbers and software chooses the sixth from the remaining 50, creating 50 entries; Bao 7 through Bao 15 and Bao 18 expand the same idea, with Mega 6/45's Bao 15 covering 5,005 combinations¹². Our page on lottery system bets explains how these multiply your cost and coverage.

Jackpots and carryover rules

The headline prizes differ enormously, and so does what happens when nobody wins them.

Loto 6's first prize has a theoretical value of JPY 200 million, but that is not the ceiling. When a carryover occurs, the maximum first prize is JPY 600 million¹. The carryover works like this: the total prize money of any tier with no winners, plus any amount by which a prize exceeds its preset maximum, is carried over into the next draw's first prize¹. This is the mechanism that lets the top prize climb over successive draws, and it makes Loto 6 one of the Japanese lotteries that uses a carryover system.

Loto 7 takes the opposite approach. If there are no winners in any tier at all, the game holds a redraw rather than rolling the money forward⁹.

Power 6/55 and Mega 6/45 both build jackpots that grow when unwon. Power 6/55's Jackpot 1 and Jackpot 2 are each divided equally among winners by share value, and the game's structure, with a minimum top prize funded by ticket sales, means the advertised jackpot rises as sales accumulate³. Mega 6/45 advertises a jackpot of 12 billion dong at minimum⁷.

TOTO has a distinctive twist called the cascade draw. A cascade draw takes place after three consecutive draws without a Group 1 Prize winner, and it changes the whole rhythm of the game, including sales hours on the day⁴. Our page on jackpot rollovers, snowballs and cascades explains how these mechanisms compare.

In the Philippines, the minimum jackpots are set by game. Grand Lotto 6/55 starts at PHP 45 million and Lotto 6/42 at PHP 10 million, with the second and third prizes shared among winners at each level⁸.

Draw schedules and where results are published

Draw frequency ranges from twice a week to three times a week, and each operator publishes results in its own way.

Loto 6 draws are held at the Tokyo Takarakuji Dream Hall as a rule, and for limited periods at the Osaka Takarakuji Dream Hall. The draw is streamed live on the internet, so you can watch it in real time. Winning numbers can be checked through Mizuho Bank's winning number announcement service¹.

Vietlott publishes results through its points of sale and app. For Power 6/55, you can take your ticket to a checkwin machine at any Vietlott sales point or check it on the Vietlott SMS app¹³.

TOTO results are published on the Singapore Pools website, which also lists the estimated jackpot for the next draw, shown at $1,000,000 est for an upcoming Monday 6:30pm draw¹⁰.

Who can play: age limits and eligibility

The eligibility rules are brief and worth knowing before you queue up.

In Vietnam, the rules are the same for Vietlott's games. Players must be at least 18 years old, and people with restricted or lost civil act capacity under the law are excluded. Vietnamese citizens, Vietnamese people settled abroad, and foreigners who enter Vietnam legally may all participate. All betting and prize payment is in Vietnamese dong¹³.

In Japan, takarakuji tickets including Loto 6 and Loto 7 are sold to anyone at the counter, with no citizenship check; the practical barrier is simply having a payment method and, for online purchase, a Japanese bank account.

In Thailand, a related rule applies to claiming rather than buying: prize recipients of the Government Lottery Office's lotteries must be not less than twenty years of age, and claims for deposited winning tickets go to a Krungthai Bank account at the Government Lottery Office branch¹⁴.

For Singapore and Hong Kong, standard local rules on lottery participation apply at the point of sale.

Where to buy tickets

Each country has its own sales network, and some are more convenient for visitors than others.

Japan has the widest range of channels. Loto 6 can be bought at lottery booths, online, at the ATMs of some banks, and at some convenience stores, and it is on sale in principle all year round¹¹. Loto 7 is sold through the same channels: lottery booths, online, some bank ATMs and some convenience stores². Where you collect a Loto 6 prize depends on where you bought the ticket and how much you won: tickets bought at a lottery stand or convenience store are paid out at a lottery stand or Mizuho Bank depending on the amount, while winnings on tickets bought through a bank's online lottery sales site are transferred automatically to the account used to buy the ticket¹⁵.

Vietnam sells through retail points and mobile. Mega 6/45 tickets can be bought at Vietlott's retail sales points, and the Vietlott SMS mobile app is the other channel. Anyone betting by mobile phone must have both a betting account and a prize-receiving account¹². Power 6/55 also lets you buy up to 6 draws in advance on one play slip¹³.

Singapore TOTO is sold at Singapore Pools outlets, with sales closing at 6pm on draw day, or 9pm if the current draw is a cascade draw⁴.

In the Philippines, lotto tickets are sold at PCSO lotto outlets nationwide, with Lucky Pick available if you want the machine to choose your numbers⁸.

Our page on where to buy lottery tickets in Asia has more detail on each country's retail network.

What happens when a draw is canceled or no one wins

Every game has a rule for the case nobody likes to think about: an empty prize tier.

Loto 6 rolls unwon money upward. The prize pool of any grade with no winners, plus any excess over a tier's preset maximum, is carried over to the next draw's 1st prize¹. That is why the top prize can reach JPY 600 million, its cap when a carryover occurs¹.

Loto 7 redraws. If there are no winners in any tier, a redraw is held, so the money stays with that round rather than accumulating⁹.

TOTO cascades. After three consecutive draws without a Group 1 Prize winner, a cascade draw is held, and on cascade days sales run later, until 9pm instead of the usual 6pm⁴.

Power 6/55 pays only the highest tier won on any ticket, and jackpots are divided equally among winners by share value, so an unwon jackpot simply continues to the next round under the game's accumulation rules³.

Draws themselves are occasionally canceled or rescheduled for practical reasons, such as giving players more time to buy tickets for a special draw, and in those cases the operator announces the new date through its usual results channels.