Lotteries are games of chance in which people can win money or goods by selecting numbers or symbols on a printed ticket. They are a form of gambling and, as such, must be regulated by government authorities. Many states have legalized lottery games while others have banned them. Some have even prosecuted lottery players who are caught. In order to avoid prosecution, lottery players must choose their numbers carefully and never exceed the limit on the number of tickets they can purchase.
In Laos, where gambling is illegal in most places, lottery drawing officials are accused of rigging the system to manipulate winning numbers and avoid large pay-outs. Drawings in the national lottery, which take place three times each week, often show numbers that disappear from purchased tickets or are deemed unlucky and unlikely to be chosen. For example, the winning number 509 in a drawing on Oct. 14 this year appeared only as 5 on tickets sold throughout the day of the drawing after many buyers sought to buy tickets including the number, a source told RFA’s Lao Service.
Private business interests are responsible for running the lottery, and there is no transparency about how much they pay for a concession to run it, a Lao state official who spoke on condition of anonymity told RFA’s Lao Service. The businesses involved also include family members of the nation’s ruling elite, he said.
A month ago the office of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith sent a directive asking the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the country’s legal state lottery, to work with the Ministry of Public Security on tackling this problem. The directive calls for state lottery drawings to be reduced from two to one a week and for the handling of winnings to be done in a more transparent way. It also asks that informal football lotteries and lottery chances bought via short messaging services be shut down.
While gambling is technically illegal in Laos, lottery-like games are permitted in Special Economic Zones leased by the government to boost foreign trade. These zones are where most of the nation’s land-based casinos operate, but players from Laos can also gamble legally in offshore online casinos that accept them. These casinos are operated by companies licensed at the state level and include both government-owned and privately owned operators. The websites offer a variety of games such as roulette, poker, and blackjack. The games are available in several languages, and the casinos provide secure banking systems for their players. The sites are not endorsed by the government, but they do provide information on responsible gambling practices.