Lotteries are games in which players choose numbers for a chance to win a prize. The prize can be anything from money to goods or services. In some cases, a person may also be able to win a vacation or an automobile. In addition, many state and local governments use lotteries to fund school systems. The lottery industry is highly regulated. In the United States, state-licensed lottery operators operate most of the nation’s lotteries. Some offer a variety of games, including instant tickets and keno.
In Canada, a provincial government can legally own and operate a lottery system. Buying a lottery ticket is legal in all provinces except Quebec and Newfoundland. However, before 1967, playing a lottery was illegal in Canada. That changed when the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced an Omnibus Bill that brought up to date a number of obsolete laws, including the law prohibiting the operation of lotteries. The Bill did not mention the Irish Sweepstakes, but it did allow provincial government-owned companies to operate lotteries.
Laos has a complicated relationship with gambling. Gambling is generally illegal in the country, but there are Special Economic Zones that are leased to foreign businesses in order to boost the economy and attract tourists. In these zones, gamblers can play at casinos that accept players from all over the world.
The national lottery in Laos is rigged, and winning numbers often disappear from purchased tickets, sources in the communist Southeast Asian country say. The winning number 509 in this year’s Powerball drawing, for example, showed up only as a 5 on tickets sold throughout the day of the draw. It was changed only 10 minutes before the drawing, a source in Vientiane told RFA’s Lao Service.
The winner of the big prize, a lump-sum payment of $422 million after taxes, is Cheng Saephan, 46, a member of the Iu Mien ethnic group. He bought his ticket at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland. The win has transformed his life, he said. He plans to help his family and support his children’s education. He also hopes to increase awareness about the Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group that fled from China in the mid-19th century and settled in Oregon. The winner must claim his prize within 180 days. He will be required to provide identification and other documentation, and he will need to sign a claim form that is verified by the lottery’s verification department.