If you’re a lottery enthusiast, you can now play your favorite lottery games online, even from the comfort of your own home. Online gambling laws are generally prohibitive, but lottery-style games are an exception. This makes it possible for players from all over the world to purchase tickets through web sites that charge premiums on base lottery prices. These sites also offer the option to play instant lotteries. GTech Corporation, based in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, administers 70% of worldwide lottery online and instant business, according to its website.
Laotian government officials have been rigging the national lottery in order to avoid large pay-outs, sources in the communist nation tell RFA’s Lao Service. The drawings, which take place three times a week, often show numbers that are either deemed unlucky or vanishingly rare. In one instance, the number 509 appeared only as 134 on tickets purchased throughout the day of a drawing before disappearing before the actual draw took place. The numbers are selected by random, but the business interests responsible for the lottery have connections to the country’s ruling elite, a source says.
The prizes for winning the lottery increase in value depending on how many numbers are matched. Matching all four numbers turns a 1,000-kilo kip wager into six million kip, while matching two numbers yields a 30 thousand kip prize. In addition, some of the lottery’s numbers are associated with animals and come with bonus payouts.
Lotteries in New Zealand are controlled by the government through an autonomous Crown entity, Lotto New Zealand. Profits are distributed to various government-approved projects and charitable organizations domestically and internationally. In addition, the Government Lottery Commission regulates New Zealand’s land-based casinos and offshore gaming operators.
In Canada, buying a lottery ticket is legal, but the legality of online and instant lotteries remains questionable in some jurisdictions. However, lottery-style games are popular and profitable, especially when offered through social networking platforms like Facebook. In fact, the popularity of these games has spurred a number of start-ups that offer services similar to those provided by traditional lottery companies. Many of these startups are owned and operated by the International Lottery in Liechtenstein Foundation (ILLF), which pioneered Internet gaming. The company operates several websites, referred to as the ILLF brands. These sites include the first online lottery, PLUS Lotto, and processes the first Internet gaming transaction ever. The ILLF also supports charitable projects and organizations domestically and internationally. In addition, it has developed instant scratchcard games and a variety of other products.