Vietnam's American-style lottery jackpot heads to Hanoi

By Minh Son, Anh Minh   November 30, 2016 | 06:54 pm PT
Vietnam's American-style lottery jackpot heads to Hanoi
Signboard of a Vietlott's agency on Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Son
Five winners have hit the jackpot since mid-October and Vietlott plans on further expanding in northern Vietnam.

The Vietnam Computerized Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company (Vietlott) has confirmed plans to begin selling tickets in Hanoi this month. 

A company representative told VnExpress that lottery tickets will go on sale in Hanoi starting December 5. The tickets, which cost VND10,000 ($0.4) will be distributed across the city by three official agencies.

In recent days, Vietlott tickets have appeared at Hanoi lottery exchanges selling for VND12,000 ($0.5). Dealers explained the small markup covered their shipping costs from Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietlott confirmed that the imported tickets remain valid.

After launching in the capital, Vietlott plans to further expand in the northern provinces of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh.

The company has announced five winners since mid-October. The value of previous jackpots ranged from $2.5 million to more than $4 million.

In January, Vietlott signed an exclusive 18-year contract with Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya to launch a computerized lottery.

The Mega 6/45 is the company's first foray into the market and will be followed by other services.

Vietnam generally does not allow its citizens to gamble, but lottery tickets are popular across the country.

Traditional lottery tickets in Vietnam have predetermined numbers printed on them, with the highest prize set at VND1.5 billion ($65,900).

Facing tough competition from Vietlott’s Mega game, the companies behind these traditional tickets have decided to raise the top prize by 33 percent to VND2 billion, starting next year.

Vietnam's average annual income was around $2,100 last year, according to the World Bank.

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American-style lottery jackpot finds fifth winner in Vietnam

Vietnam's lottery war: American-style Mega game accused of breaking rules to beat rivals

 
 
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