Mobile Lotto sales to start via Donghaeng Lottery mobile website

The Ministry of Economy and Finance's Lottery Committee announced on 6 February 2026 that Lotto sales will begin on the Donghaeng Lottery mobile website from 9 February, according to Yonhap News¹. Until now, Lotto tickets could only be bought in person at lottery retailers or on a desktop PC¹.

On mobile, tickets can be bought from 6 a.m. Monday until midnight Friday¹. The purchase limit is KRW 5,000 per person per draw, counting PC and mobile together¹. On Saturdays, when Lotto buying typically peaks, tickets remain available as before through retailers or PC¹.

To keep retailer sales from shrinking, total mobile and PC sales are capped at within 5 percent of the previous year's Lotto sales¹. Mobile and PC sales may be suspended if the weekly sales limit is exceeded¹. The same limit already applied to PC sales, but only about 2.8 percent of it was used, which the ministry attributed to factors including low PC accessibility¹.

Lotto sales passed KRW 6 trillion last year, up from the KRW 4 trillion range in 2020 and the KRW 3 trillion range in 2015¹. Prize amounts will stay at current levels¹. A ministry official said public preference mattered, and that when a sample survey asked through a research service, most respondents said they wanted prize sizes maintained¹.

The committee also approved an overhaul of the statutory allocation system¹. Under the system, created when the Lottery Act was enacted in 2004 and the lottery issuance system was consolidated, 35 percent of lottery proceeds is mandatorily distributed to 10 institutions¹. The revision makes these changes¹:

• It eases the fixed 35 percent to "within 35 percent"¹
• It expands the range for adjusting allocations based on performance evaluation from 20 percent to 40 percent¹
• It introduces a sunset clause for the statutory allocation system, with a shift to public-interest projects after sunset¹

What it means for players

Mobile Lotto buying is limited to weekdays, so weekend purchases still require a retailer visit or a PC¹. The KRW 5,000 per-draw ceiling is shared across PC and mobile, meaning the two channels are not separate allowances¹. Because the combined mobile and PC total is capped at 5 percent of the prior year's Lotto sales, and sales can be halted once the weekly limit is reached, availability through those channels is not guaranteed at all times¹. Retailer purchases are unaffected by that channel cap¹. Prize amounts are unchanged¹. Details on who may open an account and buy through the mobile site, and any identity checks, have not been reported¹.

What happens next

The committee will run a pilot period in the first half of the year, after which it plans to set purchase limits and support measures for retailers¹. The lottery law amendment approved by the committee will go through the government's legislative process and be submitted to the National Assembly within the first half of the year¹.

For background on how Korean Lotto works and who can play, see The Lottery in South Korea: Who Can Play and How. Purchase ceilings across the region are covered in Lottery Spending Limits: Maximum Purchase per Ticket, Draw and Account, and online sales channels in Buying Official Lottery Tickets Online in Asia: Which Operators Sell Online.