The Oregon Lottery has announced that a Laotian man who immigrated to the United States is its latest Powerball winner. The prize, a lump sum payment of more than $1.3 billion after taxes, is said to be the fourth-largest ever won by an individual. The 46-year-old is a member of the Iu Mien ethnic group and worked at a convenience store. He says he will use part of the money to help his family and friends and raise awareness about the Iu Mien people. He is now a multimillionaire, but he will not be able to remain anonymous. Under state law, lottery winners must go through a security and vetting process to ensure that their identity is authentic.
The winning ticket was sold in the Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland. The store’s general manager says the man will undergo a rigorous vetting process to verify his identity. He has a year to claim the prize. Oregon law does not allow lottery winners to keep their identities secret, with a few exceptions.
Online lottery is a type of gambling whereby players bet on numbers in a drawing with the aim of winning a prize based on the number of matching digits. It is a popular form of entertainment worldwide and has become a significant source of revenue for governments. While online lottery sites are not legal in all jurisdictions, most operate in compliance with the law and provide a safe environment for their customers.
Several lottery games exist in Canada including the Canadian Lottery, the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation, and the Atlantic Lottery Company. In addition, there are provincial lotteries such as the Quebec and Ontario Lottery Commissions. Many private companies also offer lottery games in Canada. Prior to 1967, buying a lottery ticket was illegal in Canada. The law was changed in that year as part of an omnibus bill designed to bring up-to-date several obsolete laws.
The New Zealand Government controls the national lottery, Lotto, through an autonomous Crown entity, Lottery New Zealand. Profits from the Lottery are distributed by the Lottery Grants Board directly to charities and community organizations. Its other offerings include Keno, Bullseye, and Instant Kiwi scratch card games.
In Laos, the national lottery is called hwy (huay). Its prizes are structured in such a way that winnings increase exponentially based on the number of matching digits. For example, a participant who matches all four of the winning numbers would receive an award of 6 million kip. Matching three digits would multiply the stake by 500 times, turning a 1,000-kip wager into 600,000. Moreover, the winnings could be further multiplied by the odds of hitting a particular digit, for example a number corresponding to an animal. This made the lottery especially attractive to players. In addition, the game has been streamlined to make it less confusing for players. It is important to note that gambling in Laos is legal, but only within designated Special Economic Zones.