Laos lotto has drawn thousands of participants by promising substantial payouts for matching sequences of numbers. Winnings increase exponentially depending on how many numbers matched, making a single ticket capable of yielding multiple million-kip in prizes – making the lottery an attractive form of legal gambling.

Concerns have arisen regarding the integrity of Laos Lotterie’s game due to a string of suspicious events. One such instance occurred in October when cat-themed lucky number 509 appeared as 5 on tickets purchased during drawing day but then mysteriously disappeared from results, an RFA source told news agency RFA. Furthermore, earlier this year 09 also vanished after large groups sought to play it to honor its significance in Laos culture.

Players and observers have also raised a variety of other concerns about the lottery, such as suspicions that private business interests with stakes in its operations may be trying to manipulate its results to avoid paying out large sums. Furthermore, RFA’s Lao service has learned that the company running it is located in Thailand with connections to Lao’s ruling elite; officials from this group serve on its oversight committee for oversight purposes.

Considerations should also be given to whether the weight of balls used in drawing are being altered intentionally, as one caller to RFA’s Lao service reported seeing some balls appear heavier than others during his visit to Laos. According to this caller, private business interests shouldn’t be in charge of overseeing national lotteries since drawings cannot be trusted.

Vilasack Phommaluck, an official with the Finance Ministry lottery committee and member of its lottery drawing committee, suggested several changes could help address this problem. These included cutting down drawing frequency to once weekly to allow players to easily keep tabs on results and double check entries; additionally, committee plans include double checking weight of lottery balls.