In many countries the state runs a lottery to raise money for various public services. Those funds are usually used to improve roads, schools, and hospitals. However, in some cases the lottery is also used for other purposes, including distributing grants to charities and educational institutions. Lotteries can also be run by private companies. Using a computer and a Web browser, people can play lottery-style games online, often for free. The companies that operate these games are not regulated, and some charge premiums on base lottery prices. In fact, GTech Corporation, which manages 70% of worldwide online and instant lottery business, makes more profit from these extra charges than it does from selling tickets.

In Canada, the government controls the operation of national and provincial lotteries. Currently, Canada has four nationwide lotteries: Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max (which replaced the Lotto Super 7 in September 2009), Daily Grand, and Millionaire Life. The interprovincial lottery corporation consists of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador), Loto-Quebec (Quebec), Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario), and Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Yukon). The government also has a central lottery unit to regulate and oversee the provinces and territories.

The Spanish Christmas Lottery is a nationwide lottery and one of the largest in Europe. Its prize pool averages EUR2.4 billion. The prize is not paid out in cash but is allocated to prizes and prizes-related initiatives by the state-owned operator of the lottery, Loterias y Apuestas del Estado. In addition to the main prize, the lottery also offers other prizes like sports or cultural events and a number of special draws.

For poor Vietnamese people, selling lottery tickets is the only way to earn a living. On lucky days, Huong, a single mother from Saigon, can make up to 230 000 VN-Dong, or 10 US-Dollars, per day. But even on the bad days, she makes enough to survive.

While the state is responsible for running the legal lottery, it has been accused of being rigged. In September of this year the office of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith issued a directive requesting the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the state lottery, to work with other departments to ensure the lottery is operated transparently. The directive calls for drawing times to be reduced from two to one a week and for winnings to be handled in a more transparent manner. A date for the directive’s implementation has not been set. The office of the Lao deputy finance minister and state lottery supervisor, Sila Viengkeo, told RFA’s Lao Service that the directive would be strictly enforced.