Online lottery is a major industry in Laos and Thailand where many people play for the chance to become rich. But authorities say it’s hard to stop because the business takes place on the web and is run by private business interests with links to the ruling elite.

In the communist nation, lottery drawings have been rigged and numbers have mysteriously disappeared from tickets purchased throughout the day before a drawing, a source in Vientiane told RFA’s Lao Service on condition of anonymity. For example, the winning number 509 in the national lottery drawing on Oct. 14 appeared only as a 5 on purchased tickets until an hour before the drawing when it was suddenly changed to 09, the source said.

A lottery winner in Vientiane, Dokkeo, told RFA her first priority will be to share the money with family and friends. She also wants to travel — South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, wherever she can afford it.