Amid the lush green landscape of Laos, lies a rare cultural phenomenon – the national lottery. As one of the most popular lotteries in Southeast Asia, it has stirred an innate sense of luck and fortune in Lao people. But it is important to remember that the lottery is a form of gambling, and a player should always remain cognizant of this fact. While the thrill of winning is enticing, it must be tempered with a healthy dose of responsibility.
The
Despite the government’s efforts to clean up the lottery, the problems persist. For example, on Oct. 12, the number 134 was announced as the winning number on a local radio station, but it changed to 662 only 10 minutes later, according to an RFA caller. The number 134 is associated with the buffalo, a symbol of good fortune in Laos, and many people picked that number. But the caller said that private business interests should not be allowed to run the lottery, because they cannot be trusted.
Laos has some of the highest stakes in the international betting industry, with some of the best bookmakers offering competitive odds in football and other major sports. Nonetheless, gambling is illegal in the country, except in Special Economic Zones. Nevertheless, thousands of local gamblers continue to visit the few casinos in the country, while others wager online from their homes or even on their smartphones.
A new mobile app aims to help lottery customers in the country get easy access to the most important lottery information. Naga Market, which is developed by Huay Phayanak a branch of the Lao Lottery, offers users a variety of features that allow them to check lottery results with the click of a button. The application can also help them find the nearest lottery claim centers and purchase tickets through a simple process. The application also has an integrated news feed for all the major news stories about the lottery. The app has a user-friendly interface and is available for both Android and iOS devices. It requires a minimum operating system of Android 4.3 or higher and a version of iOS that supports Apple’s Messages. The app is free to download and is listed in the Google Play store under the Food & Drink category. Its privacy practices are explained in its developer’s documentation. Users should be aware of the fact that the app may collect personal information such as name, age, address, and other contact details.