Lottery games are a popular form of gambling in many countries. They are designed to encourage participation by offering substantial pay-outs if the winning numbers are drawn. However, some people are attempting to cheat the system in order to get a leg up on their competitors. A lottery rigging scandal has surfaced in Laos, where officials are accused of manipulating results in the country’s national lottery drawing. During the most recent drawing on Oct. 14, the number 509 appeared only as a five on tickets bought throughout the day, despite large demand for tickets with that number.
The alleged manipulation has prompted calls for the government to resume control of the national lottery. It is currently managed by an autonomous crown entity called Lotto New Zealand. Profits from the lottery are distributed to charities and community organizations through a series of statutory bodies including Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Film Commission. In addition, the government has a special allocation for reinvestment in community services.
In Canada, a number of provincial governments run their own lotteries. These include the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador), Loto-Quebec (Quebec), Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario), Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (British Columbia). These lottery games are operated independently of one another, with each having its own rules and prizes.
While some jurisdictions prohibit online gambling, others have legalized it for lottery games. Those jurisdictions have regulated the activities of online lottery vendors and require that they be licensed. Lottery online is a profitable business, generating millions of dollars in profits per year for a variety of businesses. These sites allow players to play a wide range of lottery-style games, and often charge premiums on base ticket prices.
There are also a growing number of companies that offer lottery-related services. These companies offer a variety of lottery-related software and services, such as mobile apps, instant tickets, and virtual scratchcards. In some cases, these companies even provide free trials of their software to encourage potential customers to buy it.
In Laos, gambling is illegal unless it takes place in a Special Economic Zone. Nevertheless, some citizens are able to gamble legally by purchasing foreign lottery tickets at local convenience stores. The number of foreign lottery tickets in the country has risen significantly as a result.
Laos also has a state lottery enterprise, which issues two weekly lotteries and a scratchcard lottery. The government is worried that the increasing number of lotteries is encouraging people to become addicted to gambling. Consequently, it has decided to reduce the number of lotteries to just twice a week and to shut down the scratchcard lottery. This move should cut lottery revenue threefold, a lawmaker told RFA’s Lao Service. However, it is unclear whether this will prevent Laos residents from buying foreign lotteries to satisfy their addiction to gambling.