A Lao lottery winner says she will use some of her prize money to help those in need. But the rest of her winnings will go towards travel, ranging from Vietnam to South Korea. “I will visit my friends and relatives, and I will also travel,” Dokkeo, 33, told RFA’s Lao Service.

Finance Minister Bounchom Ubonpaseuth has said illegal online lotteries are booming in Laos, even though the communist nation has its own national lottery. He has urged the relevant sector to invest in a system to trace those involved.

He has already cut back on state-owned legal lotteries, issuing them only twice a week and ending the scratchcard lottery that required buyers to scratch to see the number. The move came after a public outcry that issuing too many lotteries lured people into habitual gambling. Private business interests are responsible for the national lottery, he has added. Their profits can’t be trusted, he said.