Starting on the 9th, lottery tickets will also be available for purchase on mobile. Until now, Lotto could only be bought by visiting a lottery retailer in person or on a PC. However, mobile Lotto can be purchased only on weekdays, Monday through Friday, and is limited to 5,000 won or less per person per draw.
The Ministry of Planning and Budget's Lottery Commission said on the 6th it will pilot mobile sales of Lotto tickets in the first half of this year. Without installing a separate application (app), buyers can access the Donghaeng Lottery website and make purchases.
The Lottery Commission also decided, for the first time in 22 years, to dismantle the statutory allocation rate for lottery revenue proceeds. Under the Lottery and Lottery Fund Act, 35% of the lottery fund—sales minus prize money and operating costs—must be allocated by law to 10 institutions, including local governments, the National Sports Promotion Fund, and the Community Chest of Korea, with the ratios set in law. For example, of the 35%, 17.267% must go to local governments and 12.583% to the Science and Technology Promotion Fund. The remainder is used for public-interest projects.
The statutory allocation rate of 35% has been fixed since the Lottery Act was enacted in 2004. As a result, funds with ample surplus resources have received money without clear uses, or revenue has been directed to complaint-driven projects unrelated to the purpose of the lottery fund. To address these issues, the Lottery Commission decided to relax the statutory allocation rate from "35%" to "within 35%." For instance, only 25% could be distributed to designated funds, with the remaining 75% used for public-interest projects.
At the same time, the commission will revise the clause that allows adjustments to allocations within 20% of each fund's assigned share—based on factors such as fund management performance—so that adjustments of up to 40% will be allowed.
The adjusted statutory allocation system will operate with a sunset clause. After a set period, lottery revenue will no longer be required to be distributed to the 10 institutions and may be used in full only for public-interest projects.
The amendment to the Lottery Act, approved by the commission the same day, will go through government legislation procedures and is slated to be submitted to the National Assembly in the first half of the year.