Lotteries are state-regulated games that award winning numbers and prizes in return for a small wager. They can be played through retail outlets, by phone, on the Internet, and even in video slots at some casinos. In the United States, lotteries are run by states, provinces, and territories; in some cases they are regulated by federal law. Most states offer multiple types of lotteries, including scratch-off tickets and instant games. Several private companies operate national lottery operations, and some states have legalized online lotteries.
A Laotian immigrant to Oregon has won hundreds of millions of dollars in the Powerball lottery, and he plans to share the prize with a friend from the same ethnic group. Forty-six-year-old Cheng Saephan told a news conference at the Oregon Lottery that he and his wife, Duanpen, will split half of their winnings, but that he will give the rest to his friend, Chao. Both are members of the Iu Mien, a minority group that aided American forces in the Vietnam War and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s, especially along the West Coast.
Despite claims of government control, Laotian authorities are rigging the national lottery, according to RFA’s Lao Service. The communist nation’s drawing often shows that certain numbers are favored by buyers while other numbers vanish from purchased tickets. For example, the number 509 appeared only as a five on tickets sold throughout the day of Oct. 14’s drawing, but was changed to 134 an hour before the drawing.
The international lottery company GTech is based in Rhode Island and handles 70% of worldwide online lottery sales, according to its website. Its products include instant and online lotto games, such as Keno and Bullseye. It also offers the Multi-Millionaire jackpot game. The company is owned by a consortium of investment firms, and is currently looking to expand in Asia.
In New Zealand, Lotto is controlled by an independent Crown entity, and profits are distributed to various organizations and charities. The money is distributed through the Lottery Grants Board, which allocates funds to different categories of organizations, such as Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Creative New Zealand, and the New Zealand Film Commission.
This talk will explore the socio-cultural history of lotteries in Laos since 1975, and examine how the government rationalizes its lottery system as an economic activity that is coherent with socialist goals. It will also address the mechanics of the lottery system, and explore what playing, choosing numbers, and winning mean to people on the ground. Charles (Chip) Zuckerman is a linguist who studies Laos, and his doctoral research in Luang Prabang explored gender and moral dimensions of gambling. He will discuss his ethnographic work on the lottery in Luang Prabang, and the many things it reveals about Lao state enterprises.