Can Foreigners Buy Korean Lottery Tickets? From Lotto Types to Claiming Prizes, Taxes, and Sending the Money Home

You have probably spotted the little yellow sign reading “Lotto” on a booth next to a Korean convenience store. Plenty of travelers wonder the same two things: can a foreigner even buy a ticket there, and if you win, do they actually pay out?

The answer to both is yes. Buying one is almost comically easy — no passport, no signature, nothing. The tricky part is what comes after you win. Where you claim depends on the prize tier, the bank wants you to have an account, the tax is already skimmed off before the money reaches you, and getting the cash home means clearing one more hurdle: Korea’s foreign-exchange rules.

What kinds of lottery can you buy in Korea?

Korea’s legal lotteries are overseen by the Lottery Commission under the Prime Minister, while the actual issuance and operation are handled by the entrusted operator Donghaeng Lottery. Out on the street, these are the four you will actually come across.

There are also electronic games like Powerball and Speed Kino, but those are only sold to registered Donghaeng Lottery members, so short-stay visitors who cannot pass identity verification will not be able to play them.

Can foreigners buy? Yes in stores, effectively no online

There is no nationality restriction on in-store purchases. The Lottery and Lottery Fund Act sets exactly one eligibility requirement — age: you must be at least 19. In practice, store terminals do not run any identity check at all. Hand over cash, mark numbers on the slip or say “auto,” and you are done.

Online purchase, by contrast, is effectively blocked. Donghaeng Lottery’s online store requires you to verify your identity with a phone number, i-PIN, or digital certificate when signing up — all of which assume a Korean phone number or alien registration number in your name. Long-term residents might get through; short-term travelers realistically will not.

As a side note, online purchases are capped at ₩5,000 per person per draw, and payment works through a pre-loaded balance.

You won — where do you go?

This is where people get it wrong most often. In Korea, where you claim depends not on the tier itself but on the amount and how you bought the ticket. The table below follows Donghaeng Lottery’s official winner guide.

🏦 Lotto 6/45 prize-claim locations (Donghaeng Lottery official, September 2026)

Three things matter here.

First, the top prize is paid only at NH NongHyup Bank’s head office in Seoul. Even if you win out in the provinces, you have to come to Seoul.

Second, the moment the prize exceeds ₩2 million, you need ID — because tax has to be withheld. At ₩2 million or below, the ticket alone is enough.

Third, bank payouts are never in cash. The money goes into an NH NongHyup account in the winner’s name. If you do not have one, you open one on the spot or file paperwork for a transfer to another bank. For foreigners, this is where things actually get sticky.

📍 First-prize payout location — NH NongHyup Bank head office (120 Tongil-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, near Seodaemun Station on Line 5)

📍 Open in Naver Map

Pension Lottery 720+ and Speeto follow slightly different rules.

🎫 Pension Lottery 720+ · Speeto claim locations

The Pension Lottery top prize is paid out in 240 installments on the 20th of each month for 20 years — which means keeping a Korean bank account alive for two decades after you leave the country. For a foreigner, that is a far harder prize to handle than a Lotto win.

How much tax comes out?

Lottery winnings count as other income under the Income Tax Act, and the payer withholds the tax before handing over the rest. It is settled by separate taxation, so there is nothing to file at year-end.

In real numbers, it looks like this.

💰 Take-home amount by prize (2026 tax rates)

Take the ₩2 billion case: 22% on the first ₩300 million (₩66 million) plus 33% on the remaining ₩1.7 billion (₩561 million) equals ₩627 million in total tax. The amount that lands in your account is ₩1.373 billion.

How do I send the money home?

Money in your account is not the finish line. Korea regulates outbound transfers under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. In practice, two thresholds matter.

💱 Documentation required for overseas remittance

Lottery winnings are easy to document, which is why this part is actually the least painful. The bank basically wants three things.

The mistakes you cannot undo

One more thing: sharing your winnings with family or friends can trigger gift tax. Spouses are exempt up to ₩600 million over 10 years, direct ascendants and descendants up to ₩50 million, and other relatives up to ₩10 million — anything above that is taxed. A verbal “we bought it together, so half each” can still be treated as a gift, so if it really was a group purchase, keep a record from the time you bought it.