Lotteries are government-sponsored games of chance in which people pay a small sum of money to win a prize, often a cash or goods. The winners are selected in a drawing conducted by lottery officials. Many states, provinces and territories have their own state-run lotteries, while others contract with private companies to run the games. In the United States, most state-run lotteries offer a wide range of games including instant tickets, scratch-off tickets and Keno.
In Canada, there are four nationwide lotteries: Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max (which replaced Lotto Super 7 in September 2009), Daily Grand and Millionaire Life. They are operated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, a consortium of five regional lottery commissions owned by their respective provincial/territorial governments: Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador), Loto-Quebec (Quebec), Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario), Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (British Columbia).
While there is no national lottery in the United States, individual states run their own lotteries. The largest are California, Florida and Texas, which together account for more than a quarter of the total amount spent by players. State-run lotteries also provide a significant source of revenue for public education systems.
The government of Liechtenstein has been operating an Internet lotto since 1995 and was the first to introduce a website that allowed players to buy lottery tickets online. The International Lottery Foundation (ILLF) is a non-profit foundation that operates the sites and supports charitable projects and organizations domestically and internationally. In addition to its Internet lotteries, the ILLF is the world’s leading supplier of instant scratch-off products.
Several people in Laos have alleged that lottery officials are rigging the system to avoid paying out large amounts of money. For example, the winning number in a recent drawing was 509, which appeared only on tickets sold throughout the day of the drawing and disappeared from purchased tickets an hour before the draw took place. This is an indication that the number is considered unlucky, a source told RFA’s Lao Service.
A Laotian immigrant who emigrated to Portland, Oregon, will share millions of dollars with a friend after winning the Powerball jackpot. Forty-six-year-old Cheng Saephan and his wife Duanpen won $1.3 billion, which will be paid out over 30 years. The couple will take half of the money and give the rest to a friend.
Lottery is popular in Vietnam, where the official state-run Vietlott holds monthly draws with a top prize of more than VND314.1 billion ($12.4 million) or about US$2. The winner of the latest drawing on Thursday will be announced on Friday. The company is expected to release the names of the two customers who won jackpot 1. The other winner will get jackpot 2. The prize pool is based on ticket sales and a bonus from the lottery operator. It was the second time in a year that the lottery has awarded a jackpot of more than VND314.1 billion.