The lottery is a popular pastime in Laos, and many people play it to win big prizes. While the odds are low, it’s still a fun way to test your luck without risking your savings. There are many ways to play the lottery, including online and in person. However, you should always check your ticket before claiming your prize. Your ticket is void if it’s stolen, unissued, illegible, tampered with or otherwise altered. You should also keep your receipt until the winning numbers are announced.
The company that runs the lottery in the communist nation of Laos is rigging the game by manipulating the number combinations drawn, sources say. Drawings of the national lottery, held thrice each week, often show numbers that are not on purchased tickets or are considered unlucky. And the numbers that do appear on purchased tickets often disappear from the winning combination.
One source told RFA’s Lao Service that the tampering was done by the company in charge of running the lottery, Thailand’s Insee Trading Company. The company knows which numbers people choose, the source said, and it can manipulate them by blocking certain combinations from sale or refusing to sell others. The company also knows how much weight each ball has, the source added.
Another source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the government should regain control of the lottery because private business interests cannot be trusted. He said the companies running the lottery should be required to disclose how much they pay to the state-owned company for a license to operate. The companies should also be required to conduct regular audits of their books, the source said.
The steering committee overseeing the lottery recently made changes to try to restore public confidence in the game, Vilasack Phommaluck, a Finance Ministry official on the panel, told RFA. The committee will consider reducing the number of drawings from three to one per week, which would make it easier to track and display results live. The committee will also double check the weight of the balls used for each drawing, he said. These measures are a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough to completely restore faith in the lottery. The company that runs the lottery is still able to tamper with results and block some numbers from sale, so it’s not possible to guarantee that future draws will be fair.