Lottery Singapore is a legalized form of gambling, operated by the government-owned company Singapore Pools. It’s the second most popular method of gambling in the country, after 4-Digits. Players select numbers from a range of one to 49 and win prizes depending on how many they match. The prices for a single ticket start at $1, GST included.
A Gojek driver who wanted to remain anonymous said he placed bets worth $400 a week on football games at Singapore Pools. He added that he was “grateful to the lottery gods” for his good luck, but that he still preferred to win by predicting the outcome of matches using online betting apps.
The NTUC Fairprice outlet at Tampines Mall was the luckiest place to buy TOTO tickets in Singapore this year, with a high number of winners. Its popularity dipped slightly in 2021, but it remains among the top 10 lucky outlets nationwide. Its long queues during the CNY draw in 2020 also helped to make it a favorite.
The SLP’s results on lottery spending are similar to those of official, government-run surveys like the National Gambling Participation Survey (NGPS). For example, the average monthly lottery spending in our sample was close to the NGPS estimate of $214 a month for people over 50 years old.