Laos lottery game seems to give the lucky number “cat” four lives: its appearance appears four times out of four months in national lotterie drawings, raising questions about its integrity as well as raising broader concerns regarding state-run businesses and state-based economies in Laos.
Vilasack Phommaluck, who serves on the committee that oversees the national lottery, said they were aware of players’ concerns raised and had made changes in response, including limiting winning numbers from three to one and making purchasing tickets online easier for people.
Phommaluck stated that his committee will strive to make sure the lottery remains fair. While he did not specify any changes made thus far, he pledged more actions in order to restore trust in the game. “We need to improve quality of drawing and ensure winners are legitimate. When results become questionable it doesn’t serve the public well.”
He promised that the committee would take measures to make sure prize money was disbursed, while emphasizing that no private business interests should control the lottery; rather it should be run solely by the state. “The public needs to know that the drawings are free from private business influence,” said Coughlan.
Lotteries have long been popular in Laos. The first lotteries began operating there during the 18th century to raise funds for Catholic congregations; eventually becoming one of the primary resources of religious orders and an ongoing source of tension between monarchy and Church.
Recently, Laos’ government has taken steps to manage and regulate illegal lotteries that operate out of Laos without going through the same licensing processes as legal lotteries – making them harder to regulate and police than legal ones.
Concerns surrounding the legitimacy of lotteries include their winnings structure. While most prizes are fixed, some increase depending on the number of matching digits matched – for instance, those matching all four will see their bet multiplied by six thousand, turning a 1,000 kip stake into 6 million kip in return.
Lottery players often question if the prizes they win are legitimate, with claims of manipulation coming from those who win large sums – for instance, those who claim that an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years has won a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot has claimed that prize is theirs!
Others have raised issues regarding the weight of balls used in draws, arguing that heavy ones will fall more rapidly into their holes than lighter ones.
