Hong Kong Lottery is a lottery game in which the winner takes home the prize money based on the numbers drawn. Draws happen thrice a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (or Sunday). The results of the lottery are announced on television, radio, HKM6 and online. Those who wish to bet on the lottery can visit outlets run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club or purchase tickets from licensed shops. However, betting is not allowed in public places or on the street.
Lottery fever gripped the city over the past several days as people dreamt of what they might do if they became Friday night’s lucky winner of the Mark Six jackpot of about HK$100 million. The prize fund swelled to a record high after no one won the first prize for the previous seven draws. Queues appeared at Jockey Club off-course betting centers, where people were buying a single unit of HK$10 tickets for a chance to win the top prize. Laundry worker Luk Yuen-wan, 66, said the size of the prize prompted her to spend HK$20 on her first-ever ticket.
The total turnover for the draw was a record high of HK$343 million, bringing HK$85 million in betting duty into the city’s coffers and HK$51 million to the charity trust. The lottery runner, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, also collected HK$8 million in prize fees.
A box of Mark Six tickets destined for sale in Macau and mainland China were among items seized by customs officers during an anti-smuggling operation last Wednesday, according to HK01. The Customs and Excise Department believes the smugglers bought a large quantity of lottery tickets in Hong Kong because they could sell them at a profit in Macau and the mainland. The lottery tickets are now in a high-security storage facility.
Despite the large jackpot, it is still dwarfed by the prizes on offer in major lotteries around the world. In January, two winning tickets shared a US$355 million jackpot in the Mega Millions lottery in the United States.
While casino gambling is outlawed in Hong Kong, punters can place wagers on the lottery, football and horse racing through Jockey Club outlets across the former British colony. In addition, a number of private companies operate Internet-based casinos and have started offering online lottery games.
The minimum First Division Prize Fund remains unchanged at HK$8 million for each drawing. Other allocations, including the percentage for First to Third prizes and the fixed amount for Fourth to Seventh prizes, are also unchanged. Moreover, 40% of the revenue from the Mark Six after payouts contribute to the betterment of Hong Kong.
The latest lottery results are available on XOTTO’s website. XOTTO is the blockchain version of the popular Hong Kong Mark Six lottery, and its rules are very similar to those of the official HKM6 lottery. Moreover, the draw results and jackpot winning numbers on XOTTO are also announced thrice a week, just like in HKM6.