In the wake of the Dec. 3 martial law, lottery-related expenditure surged in early last year amid the impeachment turmoil. In particular, households with more unmarried children spent more money on buying lotteries.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on the 22nd, in the first quarter of last year, households with two or more unmarried children spent an average of 708 won per month on buying lotteries and the like. That was up 50.3% from the same period a year earlier (471 won) and 23.3% from the previous quarter (574 won).
Households with no unmarried children or only one spent an average of 700 won per month on lottery purchases. This amounts to only 2.2% more than the same period a year earlier.
In the second and third quarters, households with two or more unmarried children also bought more lotteries than a year earlier. They spent 681 won in the second quarter, up 30.6% from a year earlier, and 562 won in the third quarter, up 12.4% from the same period, on buying lotteries.
Lotteries are recession-type products that sell better when the economy is weak. Following the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law, signs of an economic downturn persisted, including a contraction in consumer sentiment, which appears to have led households with more dependents to increase lottery expenditure.