Lotteries and betting have been around since the time of the Hebrews, Egyptians, Hindus, Chinese and Romans. Thousands of people all over the world bet daily in the hope of winning the lottery. The Japanese are no different either.
Some see lotteries as a waste of money, others play it casually, but there are those who are fully dedicated and are rewarded for using mathematical strategies. No matter where you fit in, today we are going to see some fun facts about the lotteries in Japan and Brazil.
Previously we wrote an article talking about gambling in Japan, but in this article we will talk specifically about the lotteries in Japan.
How do some Play the Lottery?
Both in the West and in Japan, people have the habit of playing lucky numbers, dream numbers or other things. In Japan the culture of luck is very prevalent due to its Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.
There are some who use lottery generators, do advanced calculations, and use real strategies in order to win, even if they are small prizes. There are people who live solely from betting.
Once I went to line up at the lottery to pay the bill, the woman spent nearly an hour filling out about 100 lottery tickets. This one was probably determined to win.
Takarakuji - Lottery in Japan
Takarakuji [宝くじ] is the name given to Japanese Lottery, where takara [宝] means treasure and [くじ] means lottery. In other words, literally "Treasure Draw".
Unlike Brazil, where it is more common to buy tickets and scratch cards at lottery outlets, in Japan you can buy them at city halls, kiosks, specialized points known as takarakuji, and also at convenience stores.
Ticket prices for lottery games typically range from 100 to 500 yen, and prizes can reach over 100,000 yen. Below we can see the different types of lottery games that exist in Japan:
Nenmatsu Jumbo Takarakuji – The biggest lottery in Japan that takes place on the last day of the year, similar to Mega da Virada. Tickets are sold in closed packages without selecting numbers.
Jumbo Green, Jumbo Dream and Jumbo Summer - In addition to the turn of the year, there are 3 other jumbo lotteries that take place in: March (Green), June (Dream) and August (Summer).
Mini Lotto – The ticket costs 200 yen and the games take place on Tuesday. In this game you choose 5 numbers from 1 to 31 and a bonus number is randomly chosen by the machine.
Numbers 4 – You need to choose between 0000 and 9999. Whoever gets the number right can win up to over one million yen.
Numbers 3 – You choose a number between 000 and 999. The draw takes place during the week at 18:45. Whoever gets the number right can win up to ¥80,000. The ticket also usually costs 200 yen.
lotto 6 and 7– 06 or 07 main numbers are drawn, very similar to Mini Lotto.
Sukuratchi – They are Scratch Cards with instant prizes. Tickets usually cost between ¥100 (Lucky 3) and ¥200 (Scratch Puzzles, Mrs. Happy Link and Scratch Lottery).
Kuji no Hi - Draw Day
When buying Takarakuji tickets, for any season, keep them until the 2nd of September, even if you haven't won anything.
On this date, the raffle of mini prizes is held, and they call it kuji no hi [くじの日]. If you have the number drawn on one or more tickets you win a small prize.
If your number is drawn, just go to the nearest lottery or request the hagaki (postcard) to choose one of the year's prize options.