Lottery online is an Internet-based service that offers lottery games and allows players to buy tickets. Lottery games are played for prizes ranging from scratch-off tickets to cash or goods. The service is free to join, but players must be at least 18 years old and should check the rules of each game before playing.
In the United States, state governments control the largest number of lotteries and oversee operations. However, a growing number of private companies offer lottery-style games on the Web, often charging premiums to base lottery prices. The leading company, GTech Corporation, has an estimated 70% of the worldwide market for instant lottery games and online services.
Canada: Lottery games are legal in the Canadian provinces, but federal law makes buying a lottery ticket illegal. In 1967, the federal Liberal government introduced an Omnibus Bill to bring up-to-date a number of outdated laws, including one concerning lotteries. On December 23, 1969, an amendment was made to the Canada’s Criminal Code allowing a provincial government to legally operate a lottery system.
The bill was ratified in 1971. It was the first time that a nation allowed lotteries, but there were still many critics of the idea. The prevailing view was that the government should not be in the business of making money, and that the proceeds from lotteries were best used for good causes.
Laos: Lottery officials in communist Laos are rigging the national lottery and manipulating winning numbers, according to a report from RFA’s Lao Service. Drawings for the lottery, which are held three times a week, often display numbers that vanish from purchased tickets or that are deemed unlucky by buyers. For example, the winning number 509 in this year’s Oct. 14 drawing was shown only as 5 on tickets sold throughout the day of the draw, and then was changed to 134 on tickets purchased 10 minutes before the drawing began.
A 46-year-old immigrant from Laos won a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot prize in Oregon earlier this month. At a news conference after the win, Cheng Saephan wore a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words “Iu Mien USA.” The group is a Southeast Asian ethnic group whose members helped American forces during the Vietnam War; after the conflict, thousands of Iu Mien families fled to Thailand and then settled in the U.S., especially along the West Coast of the country. He will split the lump-sum payment with a friend. The win made them the world’s richest Powerball winners to date. It also raised awareness about the Iu Mien, a group that has roots in southern China.