4-Digits
 A 4-D betting slip in Singapore | |
| Formation | May 19, 1966 |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Owner | Singapore Pools |
| Website | singaporepools |
4-Digits (abbreviation: 4-D) is a Singaporean lottery game coordinated by the Singapore Pools. A fixed-odds game, individuals play by choosing any number from 0000 to 9999. Then, twenty-three winning numbers are drawn each time. If one of the numbers matches the one that the player has bought, a prize is won. A draw is conducted every Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday to select these winning numbers.[1][2][3]
Origins
The Singapore Turf Club was the first to introduce the 4-D draw in Singapore in May 1966, offering a S$2,000 first prize for a $1 ticket. It stopped offering it in May 2004 when its sister company Singapore Pools took over all the draws.[3]
Singapore Pools launched computerised betting for 4-D on 31 May 1986, and it got off to an auspicious start when the winning number for the first prize in the inaugural draw turned out to be 8838. The number "8" sounds like fa (Chinese: 发) or "prosper" in Mandarin and is traditionally a favourite among punters. Punters welcomed the new 4-D product and the company's turnover that year increased 215%, to over S$283 million.
Methods of play
Available to anyone above the age of 18, ordinary entry refers to a specific number. Example: 1234. 4-D Roll substitutes any one of the four digits with 'R'. (i.e. R123, 1R23, 12R3 and 123R) where 'R' denotes all digits from 0 to 9. Only one digit can be substituted with 'R'. For example, if you mark R234, you are actually buying 10 Ordinary Entries (i.e. 0234, 1234, 2234, 3234... 9234). System entry is a bet on all the possible permutations of a 4-D number, for example the number 1234 has 24 permutations (1234, 2341, 3412, 4123...). iBet is a System Entry bet priced from $1, regardless of the number of permutations. Quick pick is bet on a random number selected by a computer.
An independent external auditor and five draw officials are involved in the draw process. Before the draw, a specially designed computer is run to randomly select the draw machine and the set of draw balls to be used. A backup machine is also chosen.
The selected draw balls, numbered 0 to 9, are weighed to ensure that their individual weights are within an acceptable margin of error. This is to ensure that each ball has practically the same chance of being drawn.
The selected machines, secured under lock and numbered seal in a storage room, is transferred to the draw hall, along with the balls.
The balls are loaded into the draw machine in front of the audience. A member of the audience is then invited to press the start switch on the control panel, launching the draw. The balls in the draw machine, made up of four transparent cylinders, spin until a ball is sucked into a groove found in each cylinder.
The drawing process, starting from the consolation prizes, is repeated until all 23 sets of winning numbers are drawn.[2]
See also
- Pick 4 and Pick 5, similar games to 4D played in Canada and the United States
References
- ^ "Singapore Pools - 4D". Singapore Pools. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ a b "How to Play: 4D". Singapore Pools. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ a b Mak Mun San (July 8, 2007). "4-D a winner? You bet". The Straits Times. p. 48.