Lottery officials in the communist country of Laos are rigging the system, manipulating winning numbers and excluding people who would otherwise win large pay-outs, sources tell RFA’s Lao Service. They also manipulate the number of drawings in a way that makes them less transparent. A recent example was when the drawing on Oct. 14 this year included the number 509, but that number vanished from purchased tickets throughout the day of the drawing before being restored only an hour before the scheduled time. Those who run the state lottery include business interests with close ties to Lao leaders. The office of the prime minister issued a directive on Aug. 17 to address the problem.