Lottery tickets for foreign countries, including Vietnam and Thailand, are sold illegally in Laos as many as four times a day, Finance Minister Bounchom Ubonpaseuth told a recent meeting of the National Assembly. He said the state lottery enterprise is working to regulate these activities but that investment is needed in a system to trace those involved.

Despite the country’s communist political system, private business interests have stakes in the national lottery’s work. They include companies and individuals with close ties to the ruling elite, a Lao source tells RFA’s Lao Service.

Having won the lottery, Dokkeo’s phone is constantly buzzing with notifications and calls from friends, family, and complete strangers. She says her first priority will be sharing the money with her family. She also plans to use some of the funds to travel to South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, places she has long wanted to visit. “I love to see the world and meet new people,” she said. “I want to experience the cultures of these countries.” She added that she would also buy a new home and a vehicle for her husband and children.