Da Ma Cai Games and Payouts

Da Ma Cai is one of the big three names in Malaysian 4D lottery, alongside Sports Toto and Magnum 4D. Its draws are unusual in the region: the main winning numbers are decided by a designated horse race rather than a pure ball machine. This page covers every game it runs, what each one pays, how the draws work, where to buy tickets, and how to claim a prize.

What Da Ma Cai is and who runs it

Da Ma Cai Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian company whose main business is the operation and management of numbers betting, better known as 4D⁶. It is licensed by the government to run lottery and number forecast games, one of a small group of operators, alongside Sports Toto and Magnum, with that license⁷.

The company runs a network of betting outlets across peninsular Malaysia, a telephone betting service, and a mobile betting app called dmcGO. Its regional offices sit in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Perak, Melaka and Johor, with the head office at Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur⁸.

Da Ma Cai is part of the same gaming world as horse racing in Malaysia, and that connection is not incidental: the results of its draws are tied to designated horse races, as explained below. For the wider picture of legal betting in the country, see gambling in Malaysia.

Games offered: the full list

The full slate of Da Ma Cai products covers number games and jackpot games¹:

• 1+3D and Super 1+3D
• 3D
• 1+3D Jackpot and 1+3D Jackpot System Bet
• 3D Jackpot and 3D Jackpot System Bet
• 3+3D Bonus
• Bet types and add-ons: BOX, BOXALL, iBOX, System Bet, System Pair, Rolling, Lucky Pick, and the twelve Chinese zodiac options from RAT through BOAR, plus iZ and Z12

Each game has its own sales limit, and bets are accepted until that limit is reached, so a popular draw can close early on draw day⁹. You can also buy in advance: up to six draws in total, meaning the current draw plus the next five⁴.

1+3D and Super 1+3D: how they work and what they pay

1+3D is the classic game. You pick a four-digit number from 0000 to 9999 and bet at least RM1, or multiples of RM1³. The winning numbers are the last four digits of the six-digit numbers drawn, and there are 23 of them to match against: a 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize, plus 10 Starter Prizes and 10 Consolation Prizes².

There are two pool types. "ABC" (Big) bets match against all 23 winning numbers, giving you more ways to win but smaller prizes. "A" (Small) bets only match the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize numbers, so the prizes are bigger². The prize structure per RM1 bet is³:

Super 1+3D is a variant played on the same 0000 to 9999 range, with results based on the four-digit numbers drawn at a 1+3D draw³. It has seven prize categories: 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, STA, CON, TP3 and ALL, and only a single pool type, so you do not choose between A and ABC pools². Per RM1 bet it pays RM6,500 for 1ST, RM650 for STA and RM2,168 for TP3, while the ALL category pays RM1,300 for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd Prize hit and RM130 for Starter and Consolation Prizes³.

A quirk worth knowing: if two horses dead-heat for first place in the designated race, there is no 2nd Prize, and the combined 1st and 2nd Prize pool is divided equally between the two numbers. When more than 13 horses run, the four-digit numbers assigned to non-winning horses become bonus starter prizes³.

3D: bets and prizes

3D is the shorter version of the game. You pick a three-digit number from 000 to 999, and the minimum bet is RM1 per number³. The 3D winning numbers are the last three digits of the 1+3D winning numbers, so every 1+3D draw produces 3D results at the same time².

As with 1+3D, you can bet ABC (Big), which matches three winning numbers, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize, or A (Small), which matches only the 1st Prize number¹¹. The prize structure per RM1 bet is¹¹:

For a 3D BOX permutation, where your three digits can be arranged in three ways (for example 191, 911 and 119), the minimum bet is RM3¹¹.

Jackpot games: 1+3D Jackpot and 3D Jackpot

The 1+3D Jackpot is the headline game. You pick a pair of 1+3D numbers from 0000 to 9999, and the minimum bet is RM2 per pair². Results are based on the 23 winning numbers drawn in the 1+3D draw: if both of your numbers come up among the 23, you win the jackpot².

The prize pool is 55% of the total stake collection for the draw. Jackpot 1 gets 55% of that pool plus a guaranteed upfront RM2,000,000 plus any snowballed amounts from previous draws, and it has no upper limit. Jackpot 2 gets 10% of the pool plus its own rollovers, with a minimum of RM100,000². Each unit bet of RM2 entitles you to one share of the Jackpot 1 prize, so if several people win, the prize is divided by shares².

There are also smaller fixed prizes per RM2 bet: 3rd Prize RM168, 4th Prize RM68 and 5th Prize RM28. If the total payout for any one of these prizes in a single draw exceeds RM10,000,000, the individual prize is reduced until the total is at or below RM10,000,000². A worked example from the rules: if 70,000 bets win the 3rd Prize, RM10,000,000 divided by 70,000 gives RM142.85 instead of RM168¹¹.

If Jackpot 1 has passed RM30,000,000 with no winner and there are Jackpot 2 winners, the amount by which Jackpot 1 exceeds RM20,000,000 cascades down and is added to the Jackpot 2 prize, so Jackpot 2 winners can share more than RM10,000,000².

The 3D Jackpot works the same way but with three-digit numbers. You pick three sets of 3D numbers from 000 to 999, with a minimum bet of RM2 or multiples of RM2, and all your 3D numbers are automatically treated as BOX bets, covering every arrangement of the digits². Results are based on the existing 3D draw results². There are three prize categories: the Jackpot Prize, a 2nd Prize with a maximum payout of RM5,000,000, and a Consolation Prize². The jackpot pool starts at a minimum of RM600,000, and if a draw has no winner, an amount equal to 20% of the prize pool, called the snowballed amount, is added to the jackpot for the next draw².

System bets let you cover more combinations. For the 1+3D Jackpot you can play from three sets up to 480 sets of numbers; the largest, SB480, covers 114,960 pairs and costs RM229,920². For the 3D Jackpot, system bets run from SB4 to SB25, with SB25 covering 2,300 sets for RM4,600². A system bet lets you "pau" the numbers, covering all possible pairing combinations of your chosen jackpot numbers¹².

These jackpots can grow large. The 1+3D Jackpot prize pool is 55% of total turnover, and Jackpot 1 comes with a guaranteed RM2,000,000 plus accumulated rollovers, while Jackpot 2 takes 10% of the pool plus rollovers¹³.

3+3D Bonus and the zodiac bonus prizes

3+3D Bonus is a six-digit game with a Chinese zodiac twist. You select two sets of 3D numbers from 000 to 999 to form your six-digit number, plus one Bonus chosen from the twelve Chinese zodiac signs². Each bet must be in a multiple of RM1². The winning numbers are the entire six-digit numbers drawn¹⁴.

The fixed-odds prizes per RM1 bet are RM120,000 for 1st Prize, RM15,000 for 2nd Prize and RM10,000 for 3rd Prize, plus Starter and Consolation prizes, and an additional RM2 prize for matching the front or back three digits of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Prize number¹¹. The operator says the game offers the highest fixed-odds prize in the country for all its prize categories¹¹.

The zodiac element adds the bonus prizes. Each of the three main numbers drawn carries a Bonus Zodiac, drawn from the Bonus Drum, and matching the six-digit number in exact order together with its Chinese zodiac Bonus entitles you to the extra bonus winning¹⁵. The bonus prize money starts with a seeding bonus of RM50,000, and a weekly bonus of RM30,000 is added for every Sunday draw until it is won. The company can also declare a special bonus in any amount. The combined bonus prize money for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize never exceeds RM9,000,000². If more than one winner shares a bonus prize, it is divided in proportion to the amount each winner invested³.

One timing detail: if a bonus prize is fully won on a Saturday draw, the next day's draw resets to the RM50,000 seeding bonus only, without the RM30,000 weekly addition².

BOX, iBOX, Rolling and other bet types

Beyond the plain single bet, Da Ma Cai offers several ways to cover more combinations¹¹:

• Lucky Pick (LP): let the system choose your numbers for you.
• BOX: covers all permutations of your four-digit number. The cost depends on how many arrangements your digits allow: B24 (all four digits different, 24 permutations) costs a minimum of RM24, B12 costs RM12, B6 costs RM6 and B4 costs RM4³.
• iBOX: similar to BOX, covering all permutations of your chosen four digits, but with a minimum bet of just RM1 (IB24, IB12, IB6 and IB4). The trade-off is that the prize is adjusted proportionally to the number of combinations covered¹¹.
• Rolling: you roll one or two digits of your number, and the system generates every combination. Rolling up to two digits produces 10 combinations, so the minimum bet is RM10¹¹.
• Permutation bets: the system can generate all possible permutations of your four-digit number, or permutations of just the first three or last three digits³.

The same bet types carry across the games. In the 3+3D Bonus game you can play a single bet, Lucky Pick, BOX, Rolling, a Z bet that covers all twelve zodiac signs, or iZ, and system bets from 3 to 25 3D numbers covering up to 360 three-digit numbers; the largest, SB360, costs RM129,240³.

How the draws work: schedule, locations and the horse race method

Regular draws are held every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 7.00pm¹⁶. On top of that, the Ministry of Finance may approve special draws, which are usually held on Tuesday at 7.00pm¹⁶.

The draw method is what makes Da Ma Cai different. The main winning numbers are determined by a designated horse race, certified by external auditors and made known to public witnesses before the draw¹⁵. The six-digit number drawn and carried by the winning horse in the designated race becomes the 1st Prize; the numbers carried by the horses finishing second and third become the 2nd and 3rd Prizes; and the remaining numbers become starter prizes¹⁵.

The rest of the draw uses eight transparent electromechanical drums: one Horse Drum, six Numbers Drums and one Bonus Drum¹⁶. First, 10 six-digit numbers are drawn from the six Numbers Drums to make the 10 consolation winning numbers. Then 13 six-digit numbers are drawn in tandem with the Horse Drum to make the three main winning numbers and the 10 starter winning numbers, with each horse carrying one six-digit number, and any number not assigned to a horse becoming a starter prize¹⁶.

Draws may be conducted at Selangor Turf Club, Penang Turf Club, Perak Turf Club, the Off Course Centres, Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur, or any other location the company determines¹⁵.

Where and how to bet: outlets, hours and dmcGO

You can place bets at any Da Ma Cai outlet, through the telephone betting service, or through the dmcGO mobile app⁴. dmcGO is Da Ma Cai's mobile betting app, and winners can also check draw results at home through it¹².

One rule to know before you go: tickets can only be bought by non-Muslims aged 21 and above, and Muslims may not enter outlets or bet and claim prizes through dmcGO⁴. Visitors and foreign residents who are non-Muslims and over 21 can buy tickets and claim prizes like anyone else; bring your passport when claiming. For the wider rules on betting in the country, see gambling rules and penalties in Malaysia.

Outlet hours follow the draw calendar¹⁸:

Note that this schedule reflects the standard pattern where outlets open on draw days and the day before special draws; check your local outlet, as hours can vary around public holidays²⁰.

Claiming prizes: where, when and what to bring

All prizes can be claimed from the next business day after the draw, and every winning ticket is valid for three months from the draw date⁴. To claim, you must produce the original winning ticket together with your identity card or passport, and staff may ask for identity proof at the counter⁴. The ticket must be certified by the central computer of Pan Malaysian Pools Sdn Bhd through the validation process, and it must not be altered, defaced, torn, mutilated or tampered with in any way¹⁴.

Where you claim depends on the amount²¹:

Payment is made in cash or check depending on the winning amount²¹. The Perak regional office, for example, is at 19, Persiaran Greentown 5, Greentown Business Centre, 30450 Ipoh⁸.