Many Winners in Patriotic Lottery

December 1982

中文

Vendors all get rich.

The Taiwan provincial Patriotic Lottery is now in its 32nd year. In the course of its history, it has enriched the coffers of the provincial treasury, as well as a few lucky individuals. It has also provided a living for hundreds of ticket vendors. Expectant mothers and newlyweds all buy tickets, for it is said, "A ticket in the hand is a hedge against poverty."

Last September, in celebration of the 1,000th drawing, the Bank of Taiwan, which runs the lottery, increased the jackpot to NT$10 million (US$250,000). Within four days the entire issue of one million single tickets and two million sets of tickets was sold out, and there were still people who wanted to buy.

From the beginning, ticket sales have been brisk, especially before and after New Year. The lottery has met the goals for which it was established in 1950. That year, Taiwan's economy was stabilizing after the disruptions of the 1940's, but government outlays on construction programs were great. The need for extra revenue was keenly felt, and the lottery was organized.

For the first drawing, held on April 30, 1950, 10,000 tickets were printed for a jackpot of NT$60,000. At present, there are three drawings a month, on the 5th, 15th, and 25th.

Because the outcome concerns hundreds of thousands of people, the drawings are held in public and carefully monitored. Representatives of Taiwan provincial and Taipei city commercial, civic, and government organizations are all asked to take part.

Winning numbers are chosen at random by seven machines, one of which determines the number and nature of the prizes. In the 1002nd drawing, 48 prizes were awarded made up of a special jackpot, a first prize, a second prize, 15 third prizes, and 30 fourth prizes, the number of prizes being determined by the number of tickets sold. The other six machines decide the winning number, each machine picking one of the digits.

Tickets are sold in lots of 50 by the Bank of Taiwan at a 10 percent discount to give a profit to vendors. One ticket sells for NT$50 and a set of four for $200. An average stall in Taipei sells 1,000 sets of tickets per drawing or 3,000 per month, for a net profit of NT$6,000 (US$150), and up to NT$10,000 a month in the busiest sections of the city. Tickets are not returnable, however, and vendors can only hope that those left on their hands will carry winning numbers.

Sometimes winners will give a commission to the vendor. One woman in Tsaotun in central Taiwan, who is famous for selling winning tickets, has received NT$300,000 in commissions over the last three years, which she used for trips overseas.

Currently, 600,000 tickets are printed for each lottery making a profit of NT$12 million for each drawing or NT$432 million a year. There are an estimated 230,000 vendors around the island, so competition is fierce, especially in central and southern areas.

For the 1,000th drawing, the Bank of Taiwan held an exhibition of lottery tickets with the help of Liu Wei-chih, a Taichung collector. On display were tickets from each of the one thousand drawings, while an extra attraction was Liang Wen-ming's original lottery ticket illustrations. Among those attending, were collectors who brought tickets for exchange or sale. A complete set could bring as much as NT$100-150,000.

Liang, who has been illustrating the tickets since 1962, writes a story to go with the pictures. He tries to find a narrative that can be illustrated and is also appropriate to the times. He feels his work is getting better, and vows to carry on with it until the day he dies.

Today, first prize in the lottery is worth NT$3 million and the special jackpot NT$12 million. Even though the chances of winning are not high, there is the consolation for losers that they are helping their country.

[Picture Caption]

1. Vendors all get rich. 2. A selection of lottery tickets, the one at the far right is the very first one, the one on the far left is from the 1,000th drawing. 3. Emperor Taitsung of Sung taking off his coat. 4. Illustration from a story from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. 5. This man is looking at the list of winners from the previous drawing before he makes his selection.

1. Recording the winning numbers during the drawing. 2. Employees of the Bank of Taiwan inspecting tickets printed for the next drawing. 3&4. Gifts sent by happy winners to vendors are proudly displayed. 5. Sales have always been good.