For many poor Vietnamese people selling lottery tickets is the only way to earn a living. They prefer this option to the socially detested act of begging. On good days, a ticket seller can make up to 230 000 VN-Dong (10 US-Dollars) a day. This is a substantial sum in a country where social security systems aren’t capable of handling the needs of the less fortunate citizens.
The lottery system, which is controlled by the state, allows players to purchase chances to win a prize, typically cash, by selecting numbers or symbols on a grid drawn on paper. The number of prizes available is limited, but the total prize pool can be enormous. A significant portion of lottery revenue is used to support public service activities. Some governments also use a portion of the proceeds to promote gambling addiction treatment programs.
In the United States, lottery games are generally legal, as long as they are conducted in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations. Private lotteries were common in the early 19th century, when a variety of business method patents were issued for new types of games.
A company called GTech Corporation, which is headquartered in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, administers about 70% of worldwide online and instant lottery sales. The firm is a member of the World Lottery Association, an organization that sets standards for lottery operations around the globe.
Lottery officials in the communist nation of Laos are rigging the system and manipulating drawing results in order to avoid large pay-outs, sources in Vientiane tell RFA’s Lao Service. Drawings often show numbers that vanish from purchased tickets, or are deemed unlucky and unlikely to be chosen, the sources say. For example, on Oct. 14 this year, the winning number for the national lottery was 134, but the same number appeared only as 5 on all tickets purchased throughout the day of the drawing, one source said.
Lao deputy finance minister and state lottery supervisor Sila Viengkeo told RFA that the government is addressing the issue by working with authorities to better control the problem. The office of the prime minister has sent a directive to state lottery supervisors ordering that the number of drawings be reduced, and the distribution of prizes handled more transparently. In addition, informal football lotteries and the sale of lottery chances via mobile phones will be brought under control.
In addition, the government is also working to regulate casinos that accept players from Laos, which are operating in Special Economic Zones that have been leased by the government to boost foreign trade. Currently there are 3 land-based casinos that operate in Laos, but online gambling is still illegal. However, there are a number of offshore operators that offer a wide selection of popular casino games to players from the region.