4D gaming is believed to have originated in the state of Kedah in 1951, based on evidence during a Singapore court gambling trial in 1956.

An elementary school student decides to use his bicycle to draw 100 $1 lottery tickets, each with two digits. The winner will be the person whose ticket number matches the last two digits of the first prize ticket in the Malaysian Turf Club draw. This led to 2-D lotteries, which led to 3-D and later 4-D poker games, which became popular in Singapore and Malaysia from the 1950s onwards.

The Singapore Turf Club pioneered the 4-D draw in Singapore in May 1966, offering first prizes of S$2,000 on a US$1 ticket. It stopped offering it in May 2004 when its sister company, Singapore Pools, took over all draws.

Singapore Pools launched 4-D computerized betting on May 31, 1986. The winning number for the first prize was 8838, which was a good start. :fa) or “prosperity” in Mandarin, traditionally a favorite of punters. Bettors welcomed the new 4-D offering, and the company saw a 215 per cent increase in turnover for the year to more than S$283 million.