Taiwan Lottery to offer over NT$39.9 billion in LNY scratch card jackpots

Taipei, Feb. 3 (CNA) Taiwan Lottery Co. said Tuesday that the total jackpot for its scratch cards launched for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday will exceed NT$39.9 billion (US$1.26 billion), marking a record high for the Lunar New Year (LNY) period in Taiwan.

The announcement came as the company unveiled five new scratch cards, bringing the total number of Lunar New Year-themed scratch cards on offer to 15 ahead of the nine-day holiday starting Feb. 14.

To promote the new releases, Taiwan Lottery also introduced a new mascot group named Hachumi (哈啾咪), which consists of two characters -- one inspired by a black-billed magpie and the other modeled on a leopard cat.

Hachumi is featured on one of the five new scratch cards, the other four new titles are "Double Your Bonus" (獎金樂翻倍), "Good Luck Comes After Another" (好運連發), "Push Gold Coins" (推金幣) and "God of Fortune Has Arrived" (財神報到), according to the company.

Taiwan Lottery said the five new cards are priced between NT$100 and NT$500 per ticket, with a top prize of NT$5 million. Together, they offer more than 12.20 million winning tickets and total prizes exceeding NT$4.7 billion.

Speaking at a news conference, Kao Jen-chieh (高人傑), vice executive president of CTBC Bank -- which has commissioned Taiwan Lottery to issue lotteries in Taiwan for about 20 years -- said the mascot designs are meant to appeal to younger consumers and help broaden the lottery's player base.

In total, the 15 scratch cards offer more than 1,479 prizes worth over NT$1 million each, Taiwan Lottery said.

Among them is the annual "NT$20 Million Super Red Envelope" (2000萬超級紅包), traditionally the most popular Lunar New Year scratch card. Launched in January, the game offers 10 top prizes of NT$20 million and 1,200 second prizes of NT$1 million.

According to Taiwan Lottery, the first NT$20 million top prize has already been claimed in Keelung City. The winning ticket was sold by a mobile vendor who usually operates at night markets.