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On August 25, the Ministry of Finance recommended that players not buy lottery tickets over the Internet because this is an activity that is not permitted under the provisions of the lottery business law and does not guarantee the rights of customers.
According to the Ministry of Finance, lottery business in Vietnam began in 1962. Currently, the country has 64 lottery businesses, including 63 state-owned enterprises in provinces and cities operating traditional lottery and Vietnam Computerized Lottery Company (Vietlott) operating computerized lottery nationwide. In recent times, lottery business has met the legitimate entertainment needs of a segment of the population, contributing to the state budget a large amount of resources for investment in the fields of education, training, vocational training, and health; creating jobs for workers in localities.
According to the law on lottery business, this is a conditional business, subject to strict control by competent state agencies to ensure that it meets the entertainment needs of a segment of people with legitimate income and ensures security, order and social safety. Only enterprises that have been granted a certificate of eligibility for lottery business by competent state agencies are allowed to organize lottery business activities.
In addition, issuing lottery tickets from abroad to domestic organizations and individuals is prohibited; traditional lottery tickets of lottery companies in provinces and cities are only allowed to be distributed through lottery companies that sell directly to customers or through a lottery agent system that has signed an agency contract with the lottery company.
Vietlott’s computerized lottery tickets are only distributed through terminals of agents who have signed agency contracts with Vietlott and telephone (SMS). Up to this point, the law has no regulations allowing the sale of lottery tickets via the Internet and “buying lottery tickets on behalf of others”.
However, recently, there have been cases of domestic enterprises providing foreign lottery ticket purchasing services that are not in accordance with the law; some websites and applications of payment intermediaries and credit institutions provide domestic lottery ticket purchasing services, but do not return tickets to customers (only sending ticket images via email or the customer's personal account on the application).
According to the Ministry of Finance, for electronic lottery tickets, the image of the ticket returned via email or displayed in the application shows some information of the lottery ticket, but it is not complete, only takes a picture of the ticket with the information of the number series chosen by the customer, without a security code. Using the above lottery ticket image is not in accordance with the law, does not ensure the legal rights of the buyer.
The Ministry of Finance emphasized that these phenomena cause risks of disputes and lawsuits, do not guarantee the rights of buyers (because buyers do not hold lottery tickets, so in case of winning, they may not be paid or forced to share the prize); potentially pose risks of money laundering, social evils, tax evasion, and causing social disorder and insecurity.
Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Finance is coordinating with ministries, branches (Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Public Security, etc.) and People's Committees of provinces and cities to strengthen management and supervision, perfect the legal framework for lottery business, and strictly handle acts that violate the law.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance has requested Lottery Companies and Vietlott to rectify the activities of agents, inspect and supervise the ticket distribution of lottery agents, and stop business activities that are not in accordance with the law; in cases where there are signs of criminal violations, the case file will be transferred to the police for investigation and handling.
To ensure that lottery business activities operate stably and in accordance with the law, protect the legitimate rights and interests of lottery ticket buyers and ensure social security and order, the Ministry of Finance requests that organizations and individuals distributing lottery tickets over the Internet immediately cease business activities that are not in accordance with the law.
For customers buying lottery tickets, please note that they should only buy lottery tickets from companies or from authorized agents and must keep the lottery tickets to receive the prize when winning. Specifically, traditional lottery tickets are purchased directly from the lottery agent system; computerized lottery tickets currently only have 2 official distribution channels via terminals at points of sale and via phone (SMS).
