Lottery Online
A number of lottery operators are involved in the business of selling instant lottery tickets. They charge premiums on the base price of the ticket and may also use advertisements to generate additional revenue. The largest instant lottery company in the world is GTech Corporation, based in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. It administers approximately 70% of the worldwide lottery business, with over a quarter of its revenue coming from the sale of Internet games.
In the United States, the majority of state lottery profits are used to fund public education systems. The rest of the revenue is distributed to a variety of charities and community organizations. In addition, many states have legalized keno and video lottery terminals (slot machines in all but name). The popularity of these games has increased as people seek to diversify their gambling activities and increase the chances of winning a prize.
Laos’ communist government is rigging the national lottery to avoid large pay-outs, sources in the country say. Drawings in the state lottery enterprise take place three times a week and the numbers on purchased tickets are often changed before the results are announced. For example, the number 509 in a recent drawing disappeared from tickets that had been bought throughout the day, but reappeared in an hour before the winner was announced, a source told RFA’s Lao Service.
Officials in the Laos state capital Vientiane have been unable to resolve the problem because private business interests are responsible for the lottery’s work, the source said. They include relatives of some of the country’s top leaders, including former prime minister Thongsing and former president Khamtay Siphandone. The business interests are paying the state lottery enterprise an annual fee for a concession, but the government is not disclosing how much they are paying and there is no inspection of their operations, the source said.
The biggest lottery in the world is the European Union’s EuroMillions, which offers a top prize of EUR200 million ($272 million). The first draw for this prize was on October 14, 2004 and the next one will be held on September 17, 2007. The EuroMillions jackpot has exceeded EUR100 billion in total value. In the UK, the lottery is known as The National Lottery and operates under the supervision of the Gambling Commission. Other national lotteries in Europe include the Swiss National Lottery, which has a top prize of CHF70 million ($45 million) and the French Loto. The Spanish loterias y apuestas del Estado and Catalunya Loter