Gambling is a beloved pastime in Laos. Many residents play the national lottery three times weekly in hopes of snagging lucrative cash prizes; however, many suspect that its system may be biased in favor of the state – some numbers appear on purchased tickets at certain times during the day, or seemingly alter themselves during drawings; prompting many Laos players to question its legitimacy.
Laotian immigrants have been among the biggest winners in Powerball history, and Laotian-Americans represent an influential segment of its audience. Cheng Saephan traces his family roots back to Iu Mien ethnic group who fought alongside American troops during Vietnam and eventually settled in Thailand before making the journey across to America where some 200,000 Iu Mien residents reside.
Although emigrants leave behind problems of their own in their homelands, they largely come to America as a means to escape corruption and other hardships there. Some believe the opportunity for wealth creation in the US justifies taking this leap of faith.
RFA’s Lao Service has reported that Lao lottery officials appear to be gaming the system and losing public trust, according to sources within RFA’s Lao Service. Sources allege these shenanigans as efforts by lottery officials to reduce payouts or prevent large payments; winning numbers frequently vanish from tickets and purchase receipts are even altered in order to discourage players.
Alleged manipulations first surfaced after three consecutive drawings featured numbers 67, 267 and 567 at the end of September, which are associated with turtles considered bad luck in Lao culture. A Finance Ministry official who serves on the committee responsible for overseeing lottery sales told RFA that blocking these numbers from sale or display was outside their purview.
Lao authorities are taking measures to address this problem. On August 17, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith issued an official directive instructing various ministries and departments to work jointly on measures to decrease gambling spending; reduce lottery drawings from four per week to two, and shut down informal football and scratch-off lotteries which have become sources of addiction for some people.
Charles Zuckerman is a linguistic anthropologist studying modern and contemporary Laos. His doctoral research focused on gender, moral, and communicative dimensions of gambling in Luang Prabang; subsequent post-doctoral work focused on cultural diversity among indigenous populations in Nakai-Nam Theun Protected Area; teaching at University of Sydney as well as writing book on role of gambling in modern Laos.