Vietnam Lotto (Hanoi Lotto) is an increasingly popular gambling game that attracts people of all ages in Vietnam. Players believe winning the lottery will bring them luck and fortune while being fun way to pass time. Although steps have been taken by government to regulate and protect players from exploitation, illegal lotteries still draw players away from official game, leading to lost revenues for state. Furthermore, addiction may cause serious financial difficulties.
Southern lottery companies contributed over VND22 trillion to the state budget during the first half of this year – an impressive amount but far from good news for everyone involved with lottery sales. Elderly people and those living with disabilities struggle to make ends meet from selling tickets while lottery businesses offer competition to young people who were laid off due to economic turmoil.
Although the government regulates business, there are numerous issues that need to be resolved. Traditional lottery companies are experiencing a drop in sales and profits as a result of new systems which offer players more lucrative results based on a digital database storing all numbers generated by players rather than the previous system of inserting capsules with numbers into hoppers.
The Ministry of Finance has determined that lottery street vendors like Phuoc may return any unsold tickets at the end of each day to their dealers; however, each dealer has its own rule regarding this matter; any vendor returning more than 10 unsold tickets will be cut off and forced to try selling all or face the cost for any unsold ones themselves; should all tickets be sold, vendors receive a commission of approximately VND1,100 per ticket sold that could cover basic expenses like rent and meals.
Lottery street vendors also face steep taxes; according to the Ministry of Finance, they pay nearly 20% of their income as taxes. Furthermore, local tax authorities require them to register; failure to do so can result in fines or imprisonment.
As previously noted, the lottery industry poses a high risk of fraud and corruption. Major lottery companies have been implicated in corruption cases and some executives charged with criminal activities. Going forward, the Ministry will intensify supervision over lottery companies in order to detect corruption and fraudulent practices; additionally, government may increase minimum tax rates to discourage avoidance by lottery firms; finally, new legislation will be passed in order to improve transparency and reduce risks in this sector.