Lotto is one of the oldest lottery games ever created. It is played worldwide in more than 60 countries and dates back to 17th-century France when legislation allowed cities and towns to collect a “voluntary tax” in exchange for prizes like silk scarves, silver and gold items, horses carriages, carriages full of passengers as well as cash amounts.
Laos may not have as popular lottery games as in Western nations, but lottery is still available and administered by the government. Legal state lotteries are run by the Ministry of Finance while many people still indulge in illegal forms of betting via online casinos despite bans against it by government authorities. As part of efforts to regulate this activity and discourage habitual betting habits.
Sources within the government who spoke with RFA’s Lao Service indicated that the Ministry of Finance has been charged with investigating and addressing this problem, working alongside police and other ministries to develop strategies to better manage it, such as cutting state lottery drawings from two per week down to just one a week and ending sales through short messaging services.
Officials report illegitimate lottery originating in foreign nations are being illegally sold in Laos despite having its own state lottery, according to Finance Minister Bounchom Ubonpaseuth of Laos. He stated his ministry’s efforts in regulating these operations by informing Lao citizens not to participate. Added Ubonpaseuth that these illegal lotteries provide daily lucky draws and can lead to habitual betting behavior for some individuals who participate.
The Ministry has instructed the State Lottery Enterprise to collaborate with local governments and other agencies in cracking down on illegal lottery activities, he reported. To that end, sales will be reduced from four times weekly to two, and scratch-off tickets requiring buyers to scratch off a surface to reveal numbers will no longer be sold.
Laotian woman who was raised in an orphanage but now resides with her American husband plans to donate some of the $55 million lottery winnings she won on July 9 to those who raised her. Xia Rattanakone, 44, plans on using some of her fortune to return home and search for her birth family with some of it.
Phonxay Chanthavong became the second national lottery winner for Lao Development Lottery’s Jan 25 drawing when she won six digits through App Insee Hub at just 5,000 Kip per ticket – making this Lao Development Lottery state-run company’s second prize winner and their second six digit prize winner in 2019. They received their prizes and thanked officials for honoring them; prize winners can claim them within 180 days from date of drawing; next drawing scheduled for Feb 24.