Lotteries are games of chance in which numbers are drawn to determine a winner. They are often used to raise money for public goods or private benefit, and have been popular in many countries throughout history. Lottery games can include anything from simple drawing of names to complex computerised schemes. They can be a source of income for both state and local governments as well as individual players.
Currently, a large portion of many American state lottery revenues are used to fund public education systems. Other states use lottery revenues to fund public health, social welfare programs, and sports facilities. In addition to traditional drawings, some lottery operators offer instant tickets and video lottery terminals. The latter are similar to slot machines in all but name. Instant tickets are sold at convenience stores and other retail outlets, while video lottery terminals are used at casinos and other licensed re-sellers.
The world’s first Internet-based lottery was launched in 1995 by the International Lottery Foundation, a charity based in Liechtenstein that also operates lottery-related websites. It pioneered online gaming, and today it supports charitable projects both domestically and internationally. The ILLF has won numerous awards and recognition for its innovation in the field of online gaming.
Although the ILF was the first online lottery to be introduced to the general public, there are now many other operators of Internet-based lotteries. In fact, there are now more than 2,000 online lotteries worldwide, according to the Global Lottery Index (GLI). Some of these operators are large corporations that conduct multi-million dollar lottery games, while others operate smaller operations. Some are privately held, while others are government-sponsored.
Laos’ communist government is rigging the national lottery system in order to avoid large pay-outs, sources in the Southeast Asian nation tell RFA. In some cases, winning numbers appear on purchase tickets only to disappear shortly before the actual lottery drawing. For example, the number 509 that was to be used in this year’s Oct. 14 drawing appeared only as 5 on tickets sold throughout the day of the draw, a source told RFA’s Lao Service.
A recent Powerball winner in Oregon is sharing his winnings with a friend. Forty-six-year-old Cheng Saephan of Portland, a member of the Iu Mien ethnic group that helped American forces during the Vietnam war, said he would take half the prize and give the other half to his friend, Laiza Chao. The two have been friends since they met in the United States when Chao immigrated from Laos.
The couple, who have been married for eight years, will share the $1.3 billion prize over 30 years. Chao, who is a telecommunications engineer, says she will start a business with her share of the prize. The couple lives in a west Portland neighborhood that includes many Iu Mien, who assisted the Americans during the war and settled in the region afterward.