Lottery for Arts is a fundraising event designed for art enthusiasts to acquire original works of fine art by professional and emerging artists while supporting education and outreach programs at Blue Line Arts. The event is open to all and tickets are available online. All ticket sales support the education and outreach programs of Blue Line Arts.
Lotteries are government-run games of chance in which participants can win prizes by matching a series of numbers or symbols. Prizes may include money, goods, or services. Some nations have a national lottery, while others allow local governments or private companies to operate one. Lotteries are a popular form of gambling and have many benefits, including generating revenue for public service programs and encouraging participation in sport.
The first modern national lottery was started in France in the early 16th century. The modern version of the French national lottery is operated by Société des jeux de la fonction publique and is similar to state-run games in other countries, such as the Australian lotteries. The French national lottery also supports cultural and sporting events and has a charitable component.
In Canada, there are four nationwide lotteries: Lotto 6/49 (Ottawa), Lotto Max (which replaced Lotto Super 7 in September 2009), Daily Grand, and Millionaire Life. Each provincial and territorial lottery is owned by a different corporation. The five regional lottery commissions are administered by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, which is owned by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador), Loto-Quebec (Quebec), Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario), and Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).
While gambling is illegal in Laos, it has become increasingly common for people to play online lotteries through foreign websites. These websites offer a variety of games, and some even accept players from Laos. However, players are warned to check their legality before playing.
A senior Lao finance official has urged authorities to tackle the problem of illegal lotteries that have mushroomed across the country, saying that they lure people into habitual gambling. He said the authorities should invest in a system to trace those involved in this business.
On a good day, Huong sells 250 lottery tickets, earning a profit of around 11 US-dollars per shift. Her husband, Manh, is her wingman as they hustle around the streets of Saigon. Their day begins at 5 am with a quick breakfast of rice and vegetable soup before heading out to work.
A senior government official says the companies responsible for the lottery should be fully managed by the government. Currently, the company owners are connected to members of the ruling elite, he told RFA. “Hopefully the lottery will be able to resume its management by the government, because we need to know where our money goes,” he added. “And we need to know who is doing the drawings.”