Financial Minister Bounchanh Mouangkham of Laos stated on Sunday that many Laotians have become addicted to gambling, leading to government action to limit state lottery games by cutting drawings from four times weekly down to two and discontinue sales of scratch tickets, according to him. Furthermore, steps will also be taken by his ministry to regulate and address illegal lotteries; declining sales were given as one reason behind these changes, according to Mouangkham who gave no details as to why such changes had taken place.
He denounced private business interests, asserting that the lottery exists solely to generate public revenues for infrastructure and social services funding, noting: “I do not feel it should fall within the purview of private businesses to manage or run the national lottery,” and mandating that his ministry take measures to prevent illegal activities and protect the public.
Although the government attempts to regulate lottery, the game remains popular in South Korea. Last year’s total prize pool stood at 2.8 trillion kip and sales exceeded 30 billion per month – although revenue generated by lottery sales this year has decreased considerably; it now totals 20 billion per month instead of 30 billion and does not meet its targeted 50 million per person target; foreign competition is blamed.
Critics have accused lottery organizers of manipulating the system. Drawings have shown numbers which appear only once on purchased tickets or are considered unlucky and unlikely to be chosen, according to sources. For instance, October 14’s 509 drawing appeared only five times across tickets purchased throughout that day of purchase; and its winning number 67 is associated with turtles which are thought of as unlucky in Laos.
Mr Thongdy Saephan was delighted by his good fortune and plans on using some of the money for purchasing gold for his wife as well as expanding the family business. Ms Phonxay Chanthavong, second prize winner, was taken aback at her success; never thought in a million years that she’d win such an enormous sum; plans on using some for growing her business while setting some aside for children’s education expenses.
Vilasack Phommaluck, who sits on the lottery steering committee for Finance Ministry officials and staffers of the lottery in Cambodia, told RFA that some of these concerns are legitimate and that changes have been implemented to restore faith in the game. He noted that they are exploring reducing drawings per week in future while they will ensure its fairness in the meantime.