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Vietnamese takes home $2.1 million in first jackpot of 2017

By Minh Son January 1, 2017 | 05:34 am PT

Traditional lottery companies throughout Vietnam’s south, meanwhile, have officially raised their stakes.

Vietlott announced that a single ticketholder had won nearly VND49 billion ($2.1 million) during Sunday's draw.

The win represents the first jackpot of 2017 and the ninth since mid-October, according to the company's website.

On Christmas day, Vietlott also announced that two winners had split a $7 million jackpot—the largest to date. The pair represented the seventh and eighth winners of the lottery.

In early December, Vietlott officially sent 150 employees to Hanoi as part of an expansion.

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

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.

Facing tough competition from Vietlott, the companies that sell these traditional tickets have decided to raise the top prize by 33 percent to VND2 billion, starting January 1, 2017.

> Vietnam lottery firms hike prizes amid tough competition