Lotteries are games of chance in which numbers are drawn to win a prize. The prizes can range from a cash prize to goods or services. Some states and countries have legalized lotteries, while others have banned them. Some have laws governing how lotteries operate and how the proceeds are used. In the United States, state lotteries are popular and generate a significant percentage of public education funding. In addition, some private corporations run national lotteries.
Oregon Lottery officials announced Monday that a ticket purchased in Portland was the winner of the nation’s fourth-largest Powerball jackpot. The winner, who has not been identified, will receive a total of $422 million dollars after federal and state taxes are taken out. The winning ticket was purchased at a convenience store in early April. The ticket holder can choose to take the full amount in 30 years or less. The lottery winner will have to go through a vetting and security process before being publicly recognized.
In Canada, lottery tickets are sold by provincial/territorial governments. There are four nationwide lotteries: Lotto 6/49, Lotto Max (which replaced Lotto Super 7 in September 2009), Daily Grand and Millionaire Life. The games are operated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, a consortium of the 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) and Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut).
A source in Laos told RFA that lottery officials manipulate results in order to avoid large pay-outs. Drawings often show that the winning number vanishes from purchased tickets or is deemed unlucky, the source said. In one instance, the winning number 509 appeared only as a “5” on tickets throughout the day of the Oct. 14 drawing before disappearing an hour later, the source added.
A caller from Laos to RFA told the news agency that private business interests should no longer be responsible for the national lottery because it can’t be trusted. The caller said private businesses are not transparent with the public, and the companies that manage the lottery have connections to the country’s ruling elite. “I hope the government will resume control of the lottery because it should be 100 percent managed by them,” the caller said. “I don’t trust these private business interests.” The caller asked that his name be withheld from the story.