Burmese lottery explained

Aungbazay (Burmese: အောင်ဘာစေ; also spelt Aung Bar Zay, lit. "may you win") is Myanmar's official state lottery. The monthly lottery is administered by the Ministry of Finance's State Lottery Department.[1] [2] Lottery tickets are printed at a printing plant in Wazi, Magwe Region, at the same location where Burmese kyat notes and passports are printed.[3] [4]

The first Burmese lottery was introduced during the Konbaung Dynasty. A national state lottery was first established in 1878 during the reign of King Thibaw Min, in an attempt to raise state revenues.[5] The lottery was the brainchild of Pho Hlaing, who had played the French lottery in Paris.[5] Following ongoing issues with the administration of the lottery, including conflicts of interest, decreased revenues, condemnation against gambling by Buddhist monks, the lottery was ended in 1880.[5]

The current lottery was first introduced in 1938 under British rule, and is the only legal form of gambling in the country.[2] Revenues from lottery ticket sales generates per year for the Burmese government, and over 30 million tickets are sold a month for the monthly drawing.[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Against the odds. 8 October 2012. The Economist. 17 July 2015. 20 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150720230253/http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/10/informal-betting-myanmar. live.
  2. News: The big pay-off: demystifying the state lottery. Noe Noe Aung. 15 July 2014. Myanmar Times. 17 July 2015. 20 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150720231820/http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/special-features/194-your-money-2014/11055-pay-off.html. live.
  3. News: Background check: Myanmar's banking history. Guyitt. Wade. 14 July 2014. Myanmar Times. 17 July 2015. 20 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150720225028/http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/special-features/194-your-money-2014/11014-how-we-got-here-a-timeline-of-myanmar-s-financial-history-1861-2015.html. live.
  4. News: Days Not Numbered for Burma’s Lottery, Chief Says. Roughneen. Simon. 4 September 2013. The Irrawaddy. 17 July 2015. 20 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150720220004/http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/days-not-numbered-for-burmas-lottery-chief-says.html. live.
  5. Book: Thant Myint-U. The Making of Modern Burma. Cambridge University Press. 2001. 166. 9780521799140.

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