Lottery sales boom as more homes engulfed by hardship
Lottery sales rose 3.4 percent in 2012 amid the prolonged economic slump, government data showed yesterday.According to the data by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, lottery sales came to 3.19 trillion won ($2.95 billion) last year, compared with 3.08 trillion won in 2011.
Online lottery sales outlets such as Lotto totaled 2.84 trillion won, while those of offline and other lottery products including pension lotteries came to 346 billion won, the data showed.
The 2012 figure surpassed the government-recommended ceiling on lottery sales for the second straight year. The ceiling stood at 2.87 trillion won last year.
The restriction is recommended by a committee under the Prime Minister’s Office every year in an effort to stem excessive growth in gambling businesses such as lotteries, horse racing and casinos.
If the recommendation is not met, those in charge will have to face penalties and restrictions on sales the following year, though they are not mandatory. Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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