The people behind the ticket
You didn't just buy a ticket. You bought someone's afternoon.
Vé số are sold on almost every street in Vietnam, above all in the South, mostly by older people, people with disabilities and migrants from the Mekong Delta. It's one of the few jobs that needs no money to start and no paperwork.
Price of a ticket, about US$0.40.
What the seller keeps per ticket. It was cut from 1,100₫ in 2021.
Tickets a seller needs to sell in a day, mostly on foot.
A good day's income, about US$12. Unsold tickets are their loss.
Where your 10,000₫ goes
Lottery profits go to the province, mainly for schools and hospitals. The seller earns a fixed cut per ticket, so the way to help is simply to buy from them.
How it works
One country, three lotteries
There is no national lottery. Each province runs its own, and the provinces are grouped into three regions with their own draw time and rules. Every evening the South draws first, then the Centre, then the North. Tap a region.
The South · Miền Nam
- Run by
- 21 provinces, each with its own state lottery company (Công ty Xổ số kiến thiết). Profits go to that province's schools and hospitals.
- Draws
- Every day at 16:15. Each province draws once a week (Hồ Chí Minh City twice), so 3 or 4 provinces a day.
- Ticket
- 6 digits, with the province and draw date printed on it.
- Prizes
- 18 numbers drawn. Jackpot 2 billion ₫.
The biggest street-seller market: in Saigon, this is the ticket you will be offered most.
- MonTP. Hồ Chí MinhĐồng ThápCà Mau
- TueBến TreVũng TàuBạc Liêu
- WedĐồng NaiCần ThơSóc Trăng
- ThuTây NinhAn GiangBình Thuận
- FriVĩnh LongBình DươngTrà Vinh
- SatTP. Hồ Chí MinhLong AnBình PhướcHậu Giang
- SunTiền GiangKiên GiangLâm Đồng (Đà Lạt)
Street sellers carry the tickets of the provinces drawing that day. A ticket is paid by the province printed on it: where to cash it.
What a ticket can win
Read your ticket from the right
In the South and the Centre, 18 numbers are drawn, from 2 to 6 digits long. If the end of your number matches one of them, you win. The more digits match, the bigger the prize, and one ticket can win several prizes.
Chance that a ticket wins something. Most wins are the 100,000₫ prize.
Paid back in prizes, on average, for each 10,000₫ ticket.
Full prize table, South and Centre
| Jackpot all 6 digits | 2,000,000,000 ₫ |
| Jackpot runner-up last 5 digits, first one different | 50,000,000 ₫ |
| Consolation prize first digit right, one other off | 6,000,000 ₫ |
| 1st prize last 5 digits | 30,000,000 ₫ |
| 2nd prize last 5 digits | 15,000,000 ₫ |
| 3rd prize last 5 digits | 10,000,000 ₫ |
| 4th prize last 5 digits | 3,000,000 ₫ |
| 5th prize last 4 digits | 1,000,000 ₫ |
| 6th prize last 4 digits | 400,000 ₫ |
| 7th prize last 3 digits | 200,000 ₫ |
| 8th prize last 2 digits | 100,000 ₫ |
Tickets from the North (Hà Nội)
The North works differently. There is one draw for the whole region, every day at about 18:15, hosted in turn by Hà Nội, Quảng Ninh, Bắc Ninh, Hải Phòng, Nam Định and Thái Bình. A northern ticket has 5 digits and a series code (ký hiệu) such as 12HM.
27 numbers are drawn across 8 prize levels. For the jackpot, your 5 digits must match and your series code must be one of the day's winning codes, listed on the results as "Mã ĐB". Same 5 digits with another code: you still win the runner-up prize.
| Jackpot all 5 digits and a winning series code | 500,000,000 ₫ |
| Jackpot runner-up all 5 digits of the jackpot, other series code | 25,000,000 ₫ |
| 1st prize all 5 digits | 10,000,000 ₫ |
| 2nd prize all 5 digits | 5,000,000 ₫ |
| 3rd prize all 5 digits | 1,000,000 ₫ |
| 4th prize last 4 digits | 400,000 ₫ |
| 5th prize last 4 digits | 200,000 ₫ |
| 6th prize last 3 digits | 100,000 ₫ |
| 7th prize last 2 digits | 40,000 ₫ |
| Consolation prize last 2 digits of the jackpot | 40,000 ₫ |
Amounts for a 10,000₫ ticket, prize structure in force since April 2025.
If you win
- Keep the paper ticket intact. Whoever holds it can cash it.
- Up to 1 million ₫: any street seller pays you on the spot, minus a small fee.
- Up to 20 million ₫: a lottery agent (đại lý vé số), same day. No tax.
- Bigger prizes: the lottery company of the province on your ticket, with your passport. 10% tax on the part above 20 million ₫.
- Claims expire 30 days after the draw.
- Local tradition: thank the seller who brought you luck.