Until recently buying lottery tickets was illegal in Canada, but in 1967 the federal Liberal government inserted an amendment to the Criminal Code to allow provincial governments to operate their own lotteries. The result is that the country now has four nationwide lotteries operated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, which consists of Atlantic Lottery (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island), Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario), Quebecor Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Quebec), and Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut).
Each province/territorial jurisdiction has its own lottery system but they all share a single central database and one national sales force. The Interprovincial Lottery Corporation is also responsible for lottery advertising and promotional activities. These activities include television and radio commercials, print advertising, and sponsorships. The lottery system is controlled by the government and operates in accordance with all applicable laws.
In Laos, the cat has at least four lives as the numbers that represent the animal in the nation’s culture came up in the national lottery four times in a row this year, raising suspicions about its honesty. A lottery salesman told RFA’s Lao Service that the company that runs the lottery, Thailand’s Insee Trading Company, knows what numbers people choose and thus can manipulate the game to their advantage.
The suspicions were further raised when the number 367 won in three consecutive drawings at the end of September, a figure commonly associated with the turtle, an animal that is believed to bring bad luck in Laos. Then the 09 in the combination of 509-03-67 was suddenly unavailable when people tried to play it in the last drawing.
Another issue has been the weight of the balls used for the random draw. A Vientiane resident who follows the lottery said that he has noticed that the heaviest ball seems to fall into the hole faster than others. He added that the lottery company has double checked the weight of the balls but has not been able to find out why this is happening.
Vilasack Phommaluck, a Finance Ministry official who sits on the lottery steering committee, said that while some changes have been made to respond to questions about the integrity of the game, more work needs to be done. He added that he is considering reducing the drawing to one time a week in order to help restore faith in the national lottery and that other changes may be in store in the future. The ministry will take steps to improve transparency in the lottery including allowing the media to watch live when the balls are being audited and the numbers are being called. The ministry will also make sure that all winning tickets are validated.