Lottery online has grown in popularity with the rise of the Internet. Online casinos now offer lottery-style games to players in many different countries. These games are often free to play, with the cost of tickets supplemented by advertising or other methods of revenue. Many of the major companies that operate these games are based in the US. The International Lottery Foundation (ILLF), a government-authorized charitable organization, is responsible for the majority of these websites. The ILLF launched the first online lottery, PLUS Lotto, in 1995 and also pioneered instant scratch card games on the Internet. The ILLF supports charity projects and organizations domestically and internationally.

The history of lotteries stretches back thousands of years. While they were once strictly illegal, by the early 19th century, they had become an accepted part of the cultural landscape. In addition, they provided an alternative source of income to the poorest residents of society. By the end of that century, however, the legal status of lotteries had become unclear.

In 1869, a Montreal mayor named Jean Drapeau tried to raise money for a new subway system by introducing a “voluntary tax” that would allow participants to participate in a lottery-style drawing to win silver bars instead of money. Federal officials argued that the tax contravened state law, but Drapeau argued that his lottery was legal because it was not compulsory.

Laos Lottery

Despite the communist country’s ban on gambling, people in Laos still engage in numerous state-run and private lotteries. However, the national lottery, which draws winners three times a week, is rife with corruption and manipulation, sources in Laos tell RFA’s Lao Service. Drawings often show numbers that vanish from purchased tickets or are deemed unlucky to choose, they say. For example, the winning number 509 on Oct. 14 this year appeared only as a 5 on tickets sold throughout the day before the drawing. It later changed to 662, a source told RFA.

In this talk, Dr. Charles Zuckerman will explore the many things that playing the lottery and choosing its numbers means for people on the ground in Laos. He will look at how the lottery has morphed into a social enterprise that is consistent with socialist goals and what it says about the many facets of state enterprises in general. He will also touch on some of the ethnographic research he conducted in Luang Prabang while doing lottery ethnography in 2013-2016. He will share what he has learned about the history of lotteries in Laos and their complex political, economic and moral histories since 1975.