Officials in the communist country of Laos are rigging the national lottery system, sources tell RFA’s Lao Service. Drawings often show numbers that vanish from purchased tickets or are deemed unlucky, while private business interests with a stake in the lottery include families with close ties to the nation’s ruling elite, sources say. The office of Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith sent a directive on Aug. 17 asking the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the legal state lottery, to take steps to handle the problem and improve transparency in lottery operations. The directive calls for the number of drawings to be reduced from two to one a week and the handling of winnings to be improved. Lao deputy finance minister and state lottery supervisor Sila Viengkeo has disputed the allegations of rigging, saying they are not true.