Lottery in Macau

What the Macau lottery offers

Macau is famous for its casinos, but the territory also runs a small family of lottery games that sit alongside the gaming floors. There are three main strands worth knowing about.

The first is the New Macau Mark Six, a classic number-draw lottery in the style of Hong Kong's Mark Six. You pick numbers from 1 to 49, a draw pulls six winning numbers plus a special number, and prizes run from a shared jackpot at the top down to small fixed payouts at the bottom. It is the closest thing Macau has to a mainstream national-style lottery, and we cover it in detail below.

The second is the Chinese lottery, a much older tradition. Only two Chinese lottery types, pacapio and chimpupio, may be offered in Macau². Pacapio is the best known, run on an exclusive basis by Sociedade de Lotarias Wing Hing Limitada⁴, and it is still available at some locations in the city according to the Macao Government Tourism Office⁵. If the traditional side of Macau gambling interests you, our full page on Pacapio goes into the game, its history and where to find it.

The third strand is the sports lottery: betting on football and basketball, operated by Macau SLOT. This is the only sports betting permitted as a lottery product in Macau, and it comes with its own betting shops, odds boards and match lists.

Horse racing also has its own lottery-style bets, including cash sweeps (ordinary and special), winner sweeps and places sweeps⁶. You can read more about that on our horse racing in Macau page.

One warning worth a single mention: if you search online for "Macau Mark Six" you will find websites claiming to sell tickets or reveal results. The so-called Macau Mark Six promoted on many of those sites is described as a fraudulent scheme run by overseas scam groups⁷. The genuine product is bought at authorized outlets in Macau, not through random websites.

New Macau Mark Six: how the draw works

The Mark Six draw is simple at heart. A pool of numbers from 1 to 49 inclusive is used, and the draw machine selects the first six numbers automatically; these are the drawn numbers¹. A seventh number, the special number, is then automatically selected in the same draw¹.

Prizes depend on how many of these seven numbers your entry matches. The top three tiers work on a shared fund basis:

• First tier: match all six drawn numbers, and you share the first prize fund, which is 45 percent of the prize fund¹
• Second tier: match any five drawn numbers plus the special number, and you share the second prize fund, 15 percent of the prize fund¹
• Third tier: match any five drawn numbers without the special number, and you share the third prize fund, 40 percent of the prize fund¹

The prize fund itself is the betting pool minus a percentage deduction covering the lottery tax, the Government Lottery Fund allocation and the operator's commission¹. If nobody wins the first tier in a draw, the first tier fund rolls into the first tier fund of the next draw, which is how jackpots build over successive draws¹.

Below the shared tiers sit four fixed-prize tiers:

The rules also require that the second tier prize be at least twice the third tier prize, keeping the upper tiers in proportion¹. And there is a safeguard on the lower tiers: if the total of fourth to seventh tier prizes would exceed 60 percent of the prize fund, the deduction is capped at that percentage and the balance is paid from the public trust fund¹.

For a much deeper look at the draw, the prize mathematics and the Toto Macau variant, see our dedicated page on New Macau Mark Six and Toto Macau.

Mark Six bet types: single, multiple, banker and random entry

There are four ways to place a Mark Six bet, and the difference between them is how many chances you buy¹.

Single entry. You select six numbers from the 49 available. Each single entry is one chance in the draw¹. This is the basic unit of the game: one set of six numbers, one shot at the jackpot.

Multiple entry. You select at least seven numbers from 49, and every possible six-number combination within your selection counts as a separate chance¹. Pick seven numbers and you have seven combinations; pick ten and the combinations multiply quickly. It costs more, but it widens your coverage.

Banker entry (膽拖). A more surgical version of the multiple. You must select at least seven numbers from 49, and every combination must include all of your banker numbers¹. You are effectively saying "these numbers are definitely in the winning line," and the rest of your selection fills the remaining slots. It is a favorite of players who have strong convictions about a few numbers.

Random entry. The machine picks your numbers for you. Handy if you have no numbers in mind and just want a ticket.

Mark Six rules: currency, payment and tickets

A few practical rules govern how Mark Six betting works, and they matter if you are buying in person.

All bets must be made and settled in Macau pataca (澳門幣)¹. This is worth noting because Hong Kong dollars circulate freely in Macau's casinos and shops, but for lottery purposes you need pataca. Bring local currency or exchange some before you go to a betting station.

Payment can be made three ways: cash, cash voucher, or betting account¹. The betting account route comes with an extra feature called a fixed instruction: only betting account holders may place fixed instructions, made in writing to customer service, and the account must hold sufficient funds by close of business the day before the draw¹. In plain terms, account holders can set up standing bets on future draws without visiting a shop each time, as long as the money is already in the account.

If you buy a physical ticket, treat it carefully. Tickets must be marked with a vertical line in blue ballpoint pen, must not be folded, and no alterations are allowed¹. A smudged or amended ticket can be refused, so fill in your slip cleanly and keep the ticket flat.

Finally, if you win, do not sit on the ticket. Winning lottery tickets are valid for 60 days, and cash vouchers for 180 days¹. Claim within that window or the prize is gone.

Macau SLOT: sports lotteries

The sports lottery in Macau is a concession business run by a single company. Macau Slot Company Limited is a franchise concession company of the Macau SAR Government operating sports betting lotteries⁸, and it remains the only operator authorized to offer football and basketball betting and instant lottery products in the territory⁹. Football and basketball are the only permitted sports lottery betting in Macau¹⁰; you cannot bet on tennis, golf or anything else through the licensed lottery channel.

What is on offer is more varied than the word "lottery" suggests. Macau SLOT operates soccer and basketball lotteries, providing handicap-goal and odds bets, and accepts bets on selected matches drawn from important league and cup matches¹¹. The operator selects leagues from around the world and sets the odds and handicaps for customers to bet on¹².

The bet types will look familiar to anyone who has bet football in Asia:

• Win (獨贏): pick the winning side
• Draw (和局): the match ends level
• Double (連贏): combinations across outcomes
• Multiple or parlay (過關): string several selections together, all of which must win
• Over/under (上下盤): total goals above or below a line¹²

Over the years the operator has added products such as self-selected 2-in-3 combos and first goal scorer betting¹³. For the full picture of football and basketball betting, odds formats and how to read the boards, see our pages on sports betting in Macau and the operator itself, MacauSlot.

Where to buy tickets and place bets

Getting a bet on in Macau is straightforward, and the rules are the same whether you are a resident or a visitor. Macau residents and tourists can place bets at numerous betting stations throughout the city, as well as through telephone and online platforms³. Remote betting, meaning over the phone or online, is a regulated channel for horse racing, greyhound racing and the sports lottery⁶.

For sports betting specifically, the law sets out three channels: cash betting at betting centers open to the public, telephone betting, and the concessionaire's official internet website¹⁴. The Macau Lottery Company has operated a network of 14 betting centers across Macau for exactly this purpose¹⁵.

For the Mark Six, you buy at the authorized betting stations; there is no legitimate online shortcut, which is worth remembering given the scam sites mentioned earlier. And if you are combining a lottery stop with a casino trip, the casinos themselves are open 24 hours¹⁶, so you can plan a visit at any hour. Our casinos in Macau page covers the resorts, and gambling in Macau as a visitor explains entry rules for tourists.

The China Sports Lottery is a different thing

People searching for a "Chinese lottery in Macau" sometimes confuse Macau's own products with the China Sports Lottery, so it is worth untangling the two.

The China Sports Lottery is a mainland Chinese product, not a Macau one. The Chinese government operates two legal lotteries, the China Welfare Lottery and the China Sports Lottery¹⁷, and both are fully official, legal and conducted on a massive scale, supported and supervised by the government¹⁸. The China Sports Lottery allows legal betting on sporting events across the mainland, and it is hugely popular: during the World Cup, a 100 RMB bet on Croatia to win its first game through the official sports lottery would have paid out about 8 RMB, an example of the short odds you get on favorites¹⁷.

None of that is available in Macau, which has its own separate lottery system described above. Macau's sports lottery is football and basketball only, through Macau SLOT; the mainland's sports lottery covers a much wider range of events. If you are in Macau and want to bet sport, the licensed route is Macau SLOT. If you see mainland China Sports Lottery products advertised for play from Macau, treat them the way you would the fake Mark Six sites: the licensed, claimable products are the ones sold through the channels listed above.