Laos lottery officials are allegedly manipulating the system in order to avoid paying out large jackpots, according to multiple sources. Drawings held three times weekly often feature numbers not on purchased tickets or that mysteriously vanish when entered at ticket booths by clerks. A lottery saleswoman in Vientiane told RFA’s Lao Service that Thailand-based Insee Trading Company which runs the lottery knows which numbers people select and allows its executives to manipulate game play accordingly.
Laos people tend to associate the number 67 with bad luck, so few select it in lottery drawings. Yet it appeared in three consecutive winning combinations in recent drawings, leading to suspicions that it might be fixed. While no official from the company responsible has commented, RFA’s Lao Service confirmed with one Finance Ministry official overseeing a committee overseeing it that there have been irregularities beyond his committee’s control.
Many of America’s biggest lottery winners have also raised eyebrows. Last month’s Powerball jackpot winner was identified as Cheng Saephan, 46-year-old immigrant from Laos who is fighting cancer while splitting the prize equally with his wife Duanpen.
Deng Pravatoudom, who had immigrated from Laos to Canada in 1980 and worked hard ever since to support her family, made headlines when her winning numbers appeared in January’s draw – 20 years earlier when her husband dreamed about them!
Xia Rattanakone, raised in an orphanage during Laos’ turbulent 1960s and 1970s, plans to donate some of her $55 million prize to those who raised her while also searching for her birth family. She and her husband both intend to retire soon from their respective careers (his as an assistant teacher in Seattle school district and hers with Nintendo of America) before traveling extensively with their winnings.
The government hopes that by decreasing the frequency and broadcasting live of lottery draws, they can restore trust in the lottery system. Vilasack Phommaluck of the Finance Ministry Lottery Committee says this change may make results easier to keep track of and reduce chances for shenanigans.
