Lottery online is a form of gambling in which people have the chance to win cash or prizes by matching numbers in a draw. These games are legal in many jurisdictions, including the United States. Some sites offer the ability to play lottery games for free, while others require a small fee to enter. Both types of lotteries are regulated by state governments. Some countries prohibit them altogether, while others regulate them and tax the winnings.
New Zealand has a national lottery operated by an autonomous Crown entity called Lotto New Zealand (formerly the New Zealand Lotteries Commission). It operates four nationwide lotteries, including Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max, Keno and Instant Kiwi scratch card games. The profits from these lotteries are primarily allocated to charitable projects and organizations in the country. The organization also supports New Zealand sporting and arts programs through its other divisions, such as Sport and Recreation New Zealand and Creative New Zealand.
In 1968 Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau, seeking to recoup some of the funds spent on the World’s Fair and a subway system, introduced what he called a “voluntary tax.” For a $2.00 “donation” players could enter a contest to receive silver bars as their prize. While there were arguments about the legality of this scheme, the monthly draws went ahead as planned and attracted players from Canada, the US, and Europe. In 1969 Quebec’s Supreme Court declared Drapeau’s “tax” illegal.
The number 134 was popular with customers, because it is associated with the buffalo, a symbol of good luck, RFA’s source said. She added that the number was made unavailable throughout the day, and that it mysteriously returned only 10 minutes before the drawing. Despite this, she continued to sell tickets and encouraged her customers to choose their numbers carefully.
One of the most notable lottery winners in Oregon is a Laotian immigrant who won hundreds of millions of dollars in a Powerball draw. The winner, 47-year-old Cheng Saephan, will share the prize with a friend who has cancer and who helped him buy his tickets. He and his wife plan to use some of the money for their business and children’s education, as well as for medical expenses.
This talk will explore lotteries in Laos since 1975, and how they have become a central part of the nation’s political, economic, and moral life. Charles Zuckerman is a linguistic anthropologist who studies Laos. His doctoral dissertation examined the gender and moral dimensions of gambling in Luang Prabang. His current ethnographic research, based in Nakai-Nam Theun Protected Area, explores the emergence of a lottery economy among indigenous communities and its consequences for local social and cultural dynamics.