Lottery sales surge amid slumping economy

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Lottery sales in South Korea jumped 12 percent during
the first quarter from a year earlier amid a protracted economic slump, a
government report showed Friday.

According to the report by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, lottery sales in
the January-March period amounted to 643.5 billion won (US$481 million), compared
with 575.4 billion won in the same quarter a year earlier.
Sales of the most popular Lotto lottery advanced 12.8 percent to 615.6 billion
won, while paper and Internet-based lottery sales declined 6.4 percent and 5.6
percent, respectively, to 16 billion won and 11.9 billion won, the report showed.
The ministry said people often tend to try and avoid hardship by betting on the
lottery, especially when the economy is in a slump. Playing the lottery is also
cheaper and more convenient than betting on horse and cycle races, it added.
South Korea's economy has been hard-hit by a credit crisis and global recession
that began last summer, driving down exports and domestic demand. The economy,
Asia's fourth-largest, is expected to contract 2 percent this year, the first
minus growth in more than a decade.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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