HCMC Lottery Company profits soar

Its revenues were up 15.2 percent to VND8.9 trillion ($385.4 million), it said in a release. Three percent of its revenues came from printing and rents. 

While traditional lottery tickets accounted most of the revenues, nearly VND500 billion ($21.65 million), or over 5.6 percent, came from a new scratch card that allows customers to know the results immediately. 

Scratch tickets are growing well, exceeding management expectations, but are limited by our printing capacity," a company spokesperson said. 

The firm targets revenues of VND10.29 trillion ($445.6 million) and pre-tax profit of VND1.2 trillion ($51.9 million) this year. It is researching a new product recently approved by the Ministry of Finance, which will allow customers to choose their own numbers. 

It is expected to help regain market share from its main competitor, American-style computerized lottery firm Vietlott, HCMC Lottery said. 

The traditional lottery involves tickets with a numbers printed on them and a top prize of VND2 billion ($86,500) after it was increased by 33 percent in 2018.