Lottery Committee approves amended lottery guidelines

South Korea's Lottery Committee, part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, approved an amendment to the guidelines on lottery issuance, management and sales at a plenary meeting held in writing, the committee said on August 11, 2026¹. The amendment covers a new automatic prize collection system, real-time retailer information on map apps and a trial corporate prize annuity lottery¹.

Under the new system, a paper Lotto ticket bought at a retailer can be registered in the Payco app. The app then notifies the holder regularly whether the ticket has won, and any prize not collected after registration is deposited automatically on the day the claim period ends¹. The system begins operating on August 18¹. The committee said physical tickets still take priority for prize payment even when a ticket is registered electronically, so holders should keep the paper ticket safe from loss or theft until the day before the payment deadline¹.

Because paper tickets bought at retailers carry no identity check, unlike online purchases, prizes have been transferred to the fund once the one-year limitation period from the payment start date expired¹. The government said it expects trust in the lottery to rise by giving people a way to claim even small amounts¹.

The committee also plans to promote regional fund projects on retailer banners, lottery envelopes and QR code screens¹.

What it means for players

For anyone holding a paper Lotto ticket bought in South Korea, the change creates a route to be told about a win without checking numbers manually, and to receive the money automatically if the ticket is registered in the Payco app¹. The paper ticket remains the document that governs payment, so registration does not remove the need to keep it¹. Visitors and foreign residents who buy at retailers face the same one-year claim window from the payment start date, after which the money goes to the fund¹.

What happens next

The automatic registration and payout system starts operating on August 18¹. No start date for the corporate prize annuity lottery trial or the map listings was reported¹.

More on how state and licensed lotteries work across the region is in Lotteries in Asia, and country rules are set out in Can I Gamble in South Korea?.