In many jurisdictions, lottery games involve the purchase of tickets for a chance to win a prize. The prize money can range from a small cash sum to large amounts of goods or services. The most common types of lotteries are scratch-off tickets, keno and video lottery terminals. The former are operated by private companies, while the latter are run by the state or local governments. There are also other, more complex lotteries, such as the Powerball, which has a maximum prize of $1.3 billion dollars.

The government has a long history of regulating lotteries in the United States. For example, in the early 19th century a number of US patents were granted on new types of lotteries. These would be called business method patents today. In Canada, before 1967 it was illegal to buy a lottery ticket. But that year the Liberal government introduced a special law to bring up-to-date a number of outdated laws. It included an amendment concerning lotteries.

Since then, lottery games have become increasingly popular. They now are played in all 50 states, and their popularity continues to grow worldwide. Several countries have national or state-run lotteries, while others have state-licensed private lotteries. While some people view lotteries as a harmless form of entertainment, others consider them gambling and thus illegal. Whether or not a lottery is considered gambling depends on the circumstances and the amount of the prize money.

This Lao woman sold lottery tickets from a stand near the edge of a city street in Luang Prabang, Laos. Her position at the edge of a city street was an important one for her, as it allowed her to sell more tickets than she could from a shop in the center of town. This is because people in rural areas tend to spend more time at the edges of their towns.

The woman in the photograph is a member of the Iu Mien, an ethnic group with roots in southern China. Tens of thousands of Iu Mien families fled the Vietnamese war in the late 1970s, seeking refuge in Thailand and eventually immigrating to the United States, especially along the West Coast. The Oregon winner, Cheng Saephan, was part of this wave of immigration and is a prominent member of the Iu Mien community in Portland, which has a Buddhist temple, a Baptist church, social organizations and businesses. The Iu Mien community also has an active presence in other major cities in the United States. Unlike some other lottery winners, however, the Oregon winner has chosen to keep his or her name anonymous.