Despite the economic downturn, many people are still purchasing lottery tickets in an attempt to win big. This can be seen in China, where the Covid-19 pandemic has caused an increase in youth unemployment and the job market is competitive. Many young graduates are turning to the lottery, hoping it will help them get ahead in life.

However, some people have been accused of cheating to win the lottery. RFA’s Lao Service recently contacted a lottery company in the communist nation and found that some business interests are rigging the system to avoid large pay-outs. For example, the winning number for a drawing on Oct. 14 this year, 509, vanished from purchased tickets throughout the day before the drawing, and then reappeared an hour before the draw was scheduled to take place.

Laos’ finance minister, Bounchom Ubonpaseuth, told lawmakers that the ministry has been trying to tackle illegal lotteries, which lure people into habitual betting. He said that investment is needed to develop a system to track those involved in the illegal lottery business. The government has already reduced the frequency of legal lotteries issued by the state lottery enterprise to twice a week and has ended sales of its scratch lottery.