Taiwan Lottery Co (台灣彩券) is to add NT$880 million (US$31.79 million) in prize money to the jackpots of several lotteries to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, the lottery operator announced yesterday.
Major lotteries such as Lotto 6/49, the Super Lotto and BINGO BINGO would boast much larger jackpots, as the NT$880 million is the biggest increase in prize money in five years, Taiwan Lottery board member and spokesperson Huang Chih-yi (黃志宜) told a news conference in Taipei.
The additional prize money for Lotto 6/49, Taiwan Lottery’s most popular lottery, would be distributed in two parts, Huang said.
Photo: Clare Cheng, Taipei Times
The first would be through a daily draw held by Lotto 6/49 for 15 days in a row from Jan. 28 to Feb. 11, marking the longest period that a daily draw has been held in the lottery’s history, he said.
Thirteen daily draws were held in a row for last year’s Lunar New Year holiday.
Lotto 6/49, in which ticket buyers have to pick the correct six numbers from a total of 49, is usually held every Tuesday and Friday.
The Lunar New Year holiday for the Year of the Tiger starts on Jan. 29 and runs through Feb. 6.
The second method of distribution would be through special draws held from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1, Huang said.
For these draws, buyers pick six numbers and nine winning numbers are drawn. Those who have any six of the nine winning numbers win NT$1 million or share the prize money with those who have also picked six winning numbers, he said.
If not enough people win the special draws by Feb. 1 to collect the NT$360 million in prize money on offer, Taiwan Lottery would continue to hold special draws until Feb. 15 to distribute the total amount, he said.
In the Super Lotto, ticket holders must match six winning numbers drawn from 38 numbers and one winning number drawn from eight numbers to win the grand prize.
If the accumulated jackpot falls below NT$300 million, Taiwan Lottery would add NT$100 million to it once from Jan. 24 to March 24, Huang said.
From Jan. 24 to Feb. 6, Taiwan Lottery would offer seven times the buyer’s bet, up from the usual six times, as prize money for BINGO BINGO, where lottery ticket buyers bet on obtaining a big or small number, or an odd or even number, Huang said.
Taiwan Lottery also unveiled six new scratch lotteries, including the NT$12 million Lucky Lottery, for which tickets cost NT$1,200.
The NT$12 million Lucky Lottery, which goes on sale every two years during the Lunar New Year holiday and has a winning rate of 70 percent, would have five top prizes of NT$12 million, and 150 second prizes of NT$1 million each.
Huang said the six new scratch lotteries would have more than NT$14.80 million in prizes and a combined jackpot of NT$8.2 billion.
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