The law does not allow selling lottery tickets over the internet and buying lottery tickets on behalf of others.

The Ministry of Finance affirmed that current laws do not allow the sale of lottery tickets over the internet and "buying lottery tickets on behalf of others". Therefore, the activities of some organizations and individuals in the lottery business over the internet are illegal.

(Illustration photo: PV/Vietnam+)

On September 9, the Ministry of Finance said that current laws do not allow the sale of lottery tickets over the internet and "buying lottery tickets on behalf of others."

In response to some opinions that state management agencies "cannot manage, then prohibit" the buying and selling of lottery tickets online and buying lottery tickets on behalf of others, the Ministry of Finance said that lottery business is a conditional business line according to the provisions of the Investment Law and Government Decrees.

Lottery business activities are subject to strict control by competent state agencies; only enterprises that have been granted a certificate of eligibility to conduct lottery business by competent state agencies are allowed to organize lottery business activities.

Currently, the country has 64 lottery businesses, including 63 state-owned enterprises operating traditional lotteries in provinces and cities and Vietnam Computerized Lottery Company (Vietlott) operating computerized lottery nationwide.

Regarding the distribution method, the Ministry of Finance said that according to the law on lottery business, traditional lottery tickets are only allowed to be distributed through lottery companies, sold directly to customers or distributed through a lottery agent system that has signed an agency contract with the lottery company; for Vietlott's electronic lottery tickets, they are only distributed through the terminals of agents that have signed an agency contract with Vietlott and by phone (SMS).

The Ministry of Finance affirmed that current laws do not allow the sale of lottery tickets over the internet and "buying lottery tickets on behalf of others". Therefore, the fact that some organizations and individuals do lottery business over the internet is against the law because these units are not licensed to do lottery business, the method of distributing tickets is not in accordance with regulations, and there are some problems and limitations.

Specifically, buying traditional domestic lottery tickets and electronic lottery tickets via the internet causes difficulties in the management and operation of the lottery market by the management agency. Taking advantage of the name of buying lottery tickets, these organizations may organize for players to participate in the lottery directly to seek profits, causing losses to the state budget due to not having to pay taxes, costs of printing tickets, organizing lottery draws, etc., potentially causing many risks of disrupting social order and safety.

In addition, buying lottery tickets online and buying lottery tickets on behalf of others poses many risks to players; players may have their money in their lottery account taken away, be forced to share the prize because the ticket is held by the person buying on behalf of them, and the rights of lottery winners are not guaranteed.

"This affects the lottery business environment, affects the publicity and transparency in lottery business activities of enterprises. At the same time, it affects the reputation and loss of trust of players in the business activities of the State-owned lottery company in the case that the party purchasing the lottery ticket does not pay the prize but appropriates the winning amount of the winning customer," the Ministry of Finance emphasized.

In particular, in the case of buying a Vietlott ticket on behalf of someone else and the ticket wins a large Jackpot prize, there is a possibility that the ticket will not be returned to the winner because the website/application has disappeared while taking a photo of the confirmation ticket is not proof of ownership, affecting the reputation of Vietlott. In addition, receiving the prize on behalf of someone else is also related to the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In Directive 16/CT-TTG dated May 27, 2023 of the Prime Minister on strengthening the prevention and combat of crimes and violations of the law related to gambling and gambling organization activities, the Ministry of Finance is assigned to coordinate with localities to strengthen the management of lottery business activities, not allowing subjects to take advantage of gambling organization and gambling in the form of buying lottery numbers, lottery numbers or distributing lottery tickets in the wrong way.

To ensure the legitimate rights and interests of lottery buyers and to ensure a healthy market, the Ministry of Finance, ministries, branches and People's Committees of provinces and cities are coordinating to review and inspect to correct acts of intentional violation of the law. This is a management measure of state management agencies to ensure that lottery business activities comply with the law and ensure social order and safety.

Previously, 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.

At the same time, absolutely do not buy foreign lottery tickets issued on websites or applications because you may be scammed./.

According to Vietnam+ (Vietnam News Agency)

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