Lottery officials in Laos are rigging the system, and manipulating winning numbers, sources tell RFA’s Lao Service. Official drawings of the state lottery take place three times each week, but winning numbers that appear on purchased tickets can disappear or be changed before they are announced as winners. For example, on Oct. 14, a number 509 appeared only as a five on tickets sold throughout the day of that drawing, but only 10 minutes before the drawing was broadcast on local radio it was replaced with 09, the number associated in Laos with buffaloes, the country’s national animal.

Private business interests run the state lottery, with their directors often having close connections to national leaders, a caller says. A directive issued Aug. 17 asks the ministry overseeing the lottery to handle winnings more transparently.