Lottery sales in South Korea rose 7 percent on-year during the first half of this year to reach an all-time high, data showed Tuesday. Sales of lottery tickets stood at 3.62 trillion won (US$2.67 billion) in the January-June period of 2024, compared with 3.38 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from the finance ministry. The figure has been on a constant increase in recent years to surge 38 percent in four years. Sales came to 2.62 trillion won in the first half of 2020, 2.94 trillion won in the same period of 2021 and 3.15 trillion won in 2022, the data showed. Experts and officials say the brisk sales came as operations of other gambling businesses, such as casinos and horse racing, had been reduced amid the COVID-19 pandemic and public perception about lottery has improved. According to a survey by the finance ministry's lottery committee, 35 percent of winners of Lotto, the country's most popular lottery, in 2023 said they planned to buy homes or properties with their prize money, f ollowed by 22 percent saying they would use the money to pay their debts, and 12 percent said they would help their parents or other family members. Source: Yonhap News Agency