A Lao immigrant has won the Powerball lottery jackpot prize, and he’ll be sharing hundreds of millions with his friend. Cheng Saephan, who lives in Portland, Oregon, says he and his wife Duanpen will take half the money, and he’ll give the rest to a friend who helped him buy the tickets. The friend is 55-year-old Laiza Chao, who chipped in $100 to buy the winning batch of tickets. Chao is also from the Iu Mien ethnic group, and her win has raised awareness of the community, which has a large presence in Oregon.
The legality of lotteries depends on the laws of each jurisdiction. Lotteries are typically run by a government agency and regulated to prevent fraud, money laundering, or other illegal activities. Some states prohibit gambling on lottery games altogether, while others regulate it in a more limited way. In the United States, there are a variety of types of lotteries, including state-based lotteries and private online lotteries. While many people enjoy playing the lottery, the risks of becoming addicted to it can be significant.
Several states have banned the sale of lottery tickets, but there are still illegal operators who sell them. Some of these operate over the Internet and accept payments by credit card, bank wire, or e-check. The bogus lottery websites often use fake names and addresses, making them difficult to track down. Some have even been known to rob winning players of their prize money.
In Canada, until 1967, buying a ticket on the Irish Sweepstakes was illegal, but that changed with the introduction of an Omnibus Bill that brought up-to-date a number of obsolete laws. The new law permitted the government to license a lottery system, and that led to the creation of four nationwide lotteries: Atlantic Lottery Corporation (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador), Loto-Quebec (Quebec), Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Ontario), and Western Canada Lottery Corporation (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).
Private business interests with connections to the ruling elite have been taking control of the country’s national lottery enterprise and are now profiting from it, an official tells RFA. The companies responsible for the lottery’s work are not transparent about how much they pay to the government each year, nor does anyone inspect their operations. The authorities should resume control of the lottery, a caller from Laos tells RFA. The current arrangement “should not be allowed because the drawings can’t be trusted,” he adds. The winners of a lottery ticket are not known until the results are announced after the draw. In the case of Laos, the announcements are broadcast live and keep participants on the edge of their seats. Those who match all four numbers in the lottery see their wager multiply by six-fold, while those who only match two can reap a three-fold return. The prizes are usually given out in the form of silver bars and can be sold at a later date.