Lottery games are a type of gambling wherein participants attempt to win a prize based on a draw or raffle of numbers. They are popular around the world and have been used by governments to raise funds for a variety of projects and purposes. Lottery games are usually regulated by government agencies, but some are operated by private businesses or individuals. The United States has a long history of lotteries, including the first state-sponsored lottery in the country in 1789. Private lotteries were also common in Europe and other countries prior to the 19th century.

In modern times, lotteries have become very popular, especially online. Online lotteries offer players a convenient way to participate in a number drawing from the comfort of their own homes or even on their mobile devices. These games are often regulated by state or provincial gaming boards. Some also have social responsibility programs to help fund charitable projects and organizations in the community.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, Oregon. Its winner, Cheng Saephan, wore a sash at the news conference that identified him as an Iu Mien, a Southeast Asian ethnic group whose members assisted American forces during the Vietnam war and fled to Thailand to avoid retribution. They then immigrated to the U.S., especially in the West Coast area, where they now have a large community with a Buddhist temple, a Baptist church, social organizations and businesses.

He said he and his wife, Duanpen, would take half of the prize money and give the rest to a friend, Laiza Chao, who chipped in $100 to buy tickets with them. She is a cancer survivor and had jokingly told her friends before the drawing that “we’re billionaires” because they were winning.

In the communist nation of Laos, lottery officials manipulate the system to control the size of pay-outs, sources say. They are accused of changing or eliminating numbers that have been deemed unlucky or unlikely to be drawn. For example, the winning number in the Oct. 14 drawing — 509 — disappeared from purchased tickets throughout the day of the lottery drawing, and appeared as a mere five on the winners’ list only 10 minutes before the drawing was made public, a source in Laos told RFA’s Lao Service.