New scratch-off games to offer NT$12.8 billion in prize money

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taiwan Lottery Co. on Tuesday launched five new scratch-off games to mark the Lunar New Year that offer more than NT$12.8 billion (US$406.51 million) in total prize money.

Priced between NT$100 and NT$1,000, the five games feature more than 19.64 million winning tickets in total, the company said in a press release.

The new games are "NT$12 Million Grand Fortune (1200萬大吉利)," "Five Gods of Wealth (五路財神)," "Undersea Treasure Hunt (海底大尋寶)," "Big Three Dragons (大三元)," and "Year of the Horse Good Luck (馬年行大運)."

All five games will be available from Jan. 6 through July 6.

Taiwan Lottery said tickets for the game "NT$12 Million Grand Fortune" cost NT$1,000 and offer the highest top prize among the new scratch-offs.

It features eight top prizes of NT$12 million and 200 second prizes of NT$1 million, both record highs, with an overall winning rate of 70 percent.

The NT$500 "Five Gods of Wealth" game offers eight top prizes of NT$5 million and has a total winning rate of 40.72 percent.

The NT$300 "Undersea Treasure Hunt" game has more than 770,000 prizes worth NT$1,000 or more, with five top prizes of NT$3 million and an overall winning rate of 36 percent.

The NT$200 "Big Three Dragons" game, themed around mahjong symbols, offers seven top prizes of NT$2 million and a winning rate of 34 percent.

The NT$100 "Year of the Horse Good Luck" game, featuring zodiac designs, offers 150 top prizes of NT$50,000 and has a winning rate of 50.1 percent, meaning roughly one in every two tickets is a winner, the company said.