Laos does not officially operate its own lottery; however, the government permits private businesses to sell games of chance such as lotteries from foreign countries as well as those run locally by local companies. Some are illegal while others provide mobile phone applications allowing players to gamble legally within special economic zones.

Laos is home to numerous online casinos that accept players from within Laos; although not officially licensed, these accept players from Laos nonetheless. Unfortunately, gambling laws exist; those winning large sums could face punishment; it is also essential that gamers understand Laos culture and customs before engaging in online games within this country.

Government authorities recently took steps to address these practices. On August 17, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith issued a directive ordering that Ministry of Finance, which oversees legal state lottery, work closely with Ministry of Public Security in managing this problem. Furthermore, drawing times should be reduced from two per week to just once weekly and winnings handled more transparently – in addition to banning informal football lotteries or lottery chances purchased through text messaging services.

Uncertain of whether these changes will be enough to stop shenanigans, in recent weeks a series of suspicious occurrences have taken place: for instance, on October 14 this year the winning numbers in a lottery drawing were 367, 267 and 567 – numbers believed associated with buffalos as symbols of good luck in Laos; many people wanted tickets with those numbers included but access was blocked throughout the day until finally restored an hour before drawing took place.

In April, another suspicious incident took place when the number 777 was announced as the winner of a prize draw, at the same time as another lottery for an apartment complex worth approximately 30 billion kip ($1.1 million). No notice was provided to either prize winner nor organizer about this development.

Lao lottery officials have been caught manipulating results of drawings to avoid large pay-outs, according to sources in Vientiane reported RFA’s Lao Service. Winning numbers often vanish from purchased tickets or are disapproved as unworthy selections by state lottery distributors who deny sales or prevent purchase of certain numbers considered unpopular with customers.

While the government’s actions are welcomed, they won’t be enough to address these problems. Without full control of the lottery industry, shenanigans will persist within it and corrupt practices may continue affecting it. Reported by Ounkeo Souksavanh and Bounchanh Mouangkham for RFA’s Lao Service with editing by Richard Finney.