A lottery is a game in which numbers are drawn to win a prize. The prize can be money, goods, services or even a house or car. Most lotteries are run by governments, but private companies may also operate them. Some lotteries have prizes that are worth millions of dollars. Many people enjoy playing the lottery and it is considered a fun way to pass the time.
In the US, state-run lotteries are legal and there are many different types of games. Some are simple, such as scratch-off tickets. Others involve skill, such as Keno. Most states also regulate how the games are played and what prizes can be won. Some states require that the winners remain anonymous, while others do not. Some states even have laws prohibiting the use of false identities to play the game.
Online lotteries have become increasingly popular. These websites sell tickets for various lotteries and charge a fee to process the transaction. Some sites also offer a free version of the lottery in which players can compete for a prize without purchasing a ticket. GTech Corporation, based in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, administers 70% of worldwide online and instant lottery business, according to its website. These companies are often called “lottery aggregators.”
China’s state-owned lotteries, known as the National Lottery or TOTO, offer a wide variety of games and have a total annual prize pool of more than USD 100 billion. In addition, many Chinese provinces have their own lottery games and are regulated by the state.
The lottery in Laos is rigged, sources in the communist country tell RFA’s Lao Service. Drawings of the national lottery, which take place three times each week, sometimes show numbers that have been discarded or deemed unlucky. For example, on Oct. 14 this year, the winning number 509 appeared only as 5 on some tickets sold throughout the day of the drawing.
In Canada, there are four nationwide lotteries operated by provincial and territorial government-licensed operators: 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, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut). Licensed re-sellers in each of the five regions also sell Canadian lottery products through their websites.
The winner of the Powerball jackpot in Portland, Oregon has been named as 46-year-old immigrant Cheng Saephan. The Portland-area man and his wife will receive a lump sum payment of $422 million after taxes. The jackpot is the fourth largest in Powerball history. The couple is from the Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group that fled Vietnam during the war and settled in the United States as refugees. The Portland Iu Mien community is large and includes a Buddhist temple, a Baptist church, social organizations and businesses. The couple will share the prize with a friend. The winner said he wants to give back to his community and start a school for Iu Mien children.