Believe it or not, playing the online lottery in Singapore is not that easy. Not because there’s something complicated involved, but simply because there is an abundance of scams and illegal methods used by websites.
That is one of the main reasons why we decided to write this article. We want to help you distinguish real, legitimate operators from the ones that want to scam you. Once you read through this, you’ll be able to buy your ticket online without fearing that you just gave away your money to some anonymous.
The short answer is yes. The longer one requires a look into the history of the country and its laws.
First of all, any kind of gambling activity in Singapore is regulated by several bodies, including the government ones (Ministry of Home Affairs). Second, only one operator is allowed to sell lottery tickets for the Toto, 4D, and Singapore Sweeps lotteries. That operator is Singapore Pools.
Let’s go back in history and see how lottery games began to exist in Singapore.
During the 1920s, some parts of this country were still ruled by Great Britain. In 1923, gambling was legalized in those parts, but that lasted for less than three years because it led to a rise in crime and addiction.
For the rest of the past century, any kind of gambling was accessible through only two operators. Singapore pools when it comes to the lottery, and Singapore Turf Club when it comes to horse racing. Things remained like this until 2005. That’s when the government decided to loosen up all of the strict regulations.
It all started with the two land-based casinos that were built with the goal to improve tourism in the country. Shortly after, a lot more casinos were opened and integrated within the hotel resorts. Aside from the casino games, the lottery remained one of the favorite gambling activities in the country.
However, Singapore Pools remained the only operator through which you can buy a lottery ticket legally (when it comes to SG lotto games).
When it comes to local, Singaporean lotto games, the most popular ones are the three that we already mentioned. Toto, 4D, and Sweep.
Each of them is played a bit differently and jackpots and prizes are different as well.
For example, to place a bet on the Toto lottery, the player has to pick at least 6 numbers out of 49. If a player matches all six of them, he wins a jackpot. In this game, the main cash prize is commonly above $1 million.
4D on the other hand is another story. A player picks one 4-digit number in a range from 0000 to 9999. A total of 23 numbers are being drawn and there are five prize categories. The first prize awards the player with either $2000 or $3000 (depending on the type of bet) for every $1 that’s been wagered.
Last, but not least is SG Sweep. According to the 2022 gaming statistics, this is the game that is becoming more and more popular in Singapore. In this one, the player selects a seven-digit number from 0000000 to 4499999. A total of 133 numbers is drawn, and in case a player placed a bet on any of the winning numbers, a prize is won. The biggest prize is often worth a couple of millions of dollars.
There are two methods for buying tickets.
One that is mainly used is purchasing tickets in the local lottery shop. This classic way of ticket purchasing is what people in Singapore are used to. Many of them are customers at local retailers for a decade or more so it’s not surprising that they are content with buying their tickets this way.
However, in recent years, there is a new method that is gaining more and more popularity. Of course, we are talking about buying lottery tickets online. One of the many wonders that the internet brought is that people all around the world can now purchase various goods and services from the comforts of their sofa.
Access to the online app and the Singapore Pools site has any 18+ person in the country. In order to place wagers efficiently, the user has to create an account and deposit funds for betting through a bank, or some other paying method of their choosing.
There are plenty of benefits when it comes to comparison between online and offline betting. Here are some of them, that we believe are the biggest.
In conclusion, local Singapore lotteries are fun to play, and their prizes are very rewarding. New technology and more lenient laws in recent years really unlocked the full potential of iGaming in this country. We believe that as time goes on, iGaming will truly flourish, to the extent where there won’t be just one reputable operator in the country, but at least 4 or 5 of them.
Until that time comes, we suggest that you stick with SG and that you fully utilize the opportunity of buying online lottery tickets, at least when it comes to Toto, 4d, and the rest of the offering.
For all other lotteries such as Eurojackpot, Powerball, EuroMillions, Superenalotto, and others, we suggest that you try out our website. We have a total of 25 games on offer, various promotions including free tickets, loads of expert advice, and many other information and services that will create truly unique lotto experience for you.