A Laotian immigrant living in Oregon will share hundreds of millions of dollars with a friend after winning the state lottery. The winner, Cheng Saephan, said he would take half of the prize money and give the other to his friend, Laiza Chao. Both are members of the Iu Mien, a Southeast Asian ethnic group that came to the United States through refugee programs. They live in Portland, where they have a Buddhist temple, a Baptist church and other community organizations.
Lottery officials in the communist nation of Laos are manipulating the national lottery in order to avoid large pay-outs, according to sources in the country. Drawings in the lottery, which are held thrice each week, often show numbers that have been chosen before or that are considered unlucky. For example, on Oct. 14 this year, the number 509 appeared on tickets but showed up only as 09 in the results. The source told RFA’s Lao Service that business interests with a stake in the lottery know which numbers people choose and can therefore manipulate the system.
The company running the national lottery says it does not manipulate results and that it is a matter for government authorities to investigate. But a Vientiane resident who follows the lottery said she has noticed that the balls used in the drawing have different weights and that the heavier ones are more likely to fall into the hole. She also complained that the lottery is not shown live and that information is delayed.
Buying tickets online is becoming easier and more convenient. It is easy to find reviews about different companies that sell lottery tickets online. You can find out if a particular website is trustworthy and offers good customer support. Some sites even offer free trials for new customers. This way you can decide whether or not to buy a ticket from them.
In the US, private lotteries have been legal since the early 19th century. Until recently, they were run by small businesses that operated on a regional basis and provided services such as ticket sales, distribution, advertising and marketing. In some cases, they partnered with state governments to run a lottery game.
Some state governments have also begun to privatize their lottery operations, allowing private companies to manage the games. This has led to a rapid growth in the industry, which now includes numerous websites and mobile apps that allow people to play the lottery from anywhere in the world. The legality of these websites is in question, though, as many states have laws that prohibit the sale of lottery tickets over the Internet. In addition, some states are regulating the online lottery market in an effort to protect their citizens from fraudulent websites. Despite the legal challenges, the growing popularity of the lottery is likely to continue. It is estimated that more than 100 million Americans play the lottery each month. This makes it one of the most popular forms of gambling in the country.