Lottery games have a long history in many countries around the world. They may involve a drawing to determine the winner, or they might be based on chance, such as rolling dice or flipping a coin. Some lotteries are run by government, while others are private. In the United States, lottery games are regulated by state laws and are typically conducted by a state gaming commission. Many states have also adopted keno and video lottery terminals (slot machines in all but name). The Inter-National Lottery Foundation, an international charitable organization, operates Internet lotteries. It is one of the pioneers of Internet gaming, having launched the first online lottery, PLUS Lotto, in 1995 and processed the first Internet gambling transaction. The lottery supports charitable projects and organizations domestically and internationally.
Despite the large prize, this year’s winner is not anonymous. In Oregon, lottery winners are required to reveal their identities unless they choose to keep their names private. In the case of this winner, he plans to do so. The winner is an immigrant from Laos who grew up in the Portland area and has established a community of his own that includes a Buddhist temple, a Baptist church, social organizations, businesses and restaurants.
The holder of the winning ticket, a man from the Lao village of Luang Namtha, has a number that is associated with luck and fortune. The lottery number 134, which was picked by the winner, is associated in Laos with a buffalo and is thought to bring good fortune to the owner. It was the second highest number selected by players that day.
In the past, buying a lottery ticket in Canada was illegal, but in 1967 a special bill (the Omnibus Bill) was introduced to parliament to bring a number of obsolete laws up to date, and among these were those related to lotteries. Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau responded by announcing a “voluntary tax.” For a $2.00 “donation” players could participate in a drawing to win cash or silver bars. Although there were debates about the legality of his “tax,” it ran successfully until September 14, when Quebec’s appeal court declared that Drapeau had contravened provincial law.
A caller to RFA’s Lao Service recently asked that the government reclaim control of the national lottery from private business interests. The caller noted that the companies responsible for running the lottery are owned by persons with connections to the ruling elite. The caller added that no one knows how much the business interests pay for the right to manage the lottery, and that no one ever inspects the lottery operations. He called on the government to resume control of the lottery, and said that he hopes it will be 100 percent managed by the state. Charles Zuckerman is a linguistic anthropologist who studies Laos. His doctoral dissertation explored gender and the moral and communicative dimensions of gambling in Luang Prabang.