The lottery business has long been established and accepted in many countries worldwide, with various models and scales. The primary goal of lottery organizations is to provide entertainment for the community. Additionally, the industry creates job opportunities for workers, attracts investment capital, and promotes economic development. By contributing to the state budget through taxes and other payments, lottery activities not only bring profits but also play a significant role in local and national economic development.
In the lottery business sector in Vietnam, traditional lottery operations are monopolized by the state, and only state-owned enterprises with 100% capital are allowed to participate. Currently, there are 64 lottery businesses nationwide, with 63 directly under the People's Committees of the 63 provinces.
One remaining company operates in the lottery sector (Vietlott). Vietlott is a state-owned company under the Ministry of Finance, established on December 5, 2011. In 2015, Vietlott and Berjaya Group signed a business cooperation contract (BCC) to implement lottery operations in Vietnam. After the cooperation, Vietlott remained a state-owned company, while Berjaya benefited from a certain profit share on revenue to offset investment costs in equipment.
In 2023, the total revenue of the lottery market witnessed new records, reaching VDN 153,037 billion (approximately USD 6.15 million), up 11% compared to the previous year, and contributing VND 45,016 billion to the state budget, an increase of 10.3% compared to 2022.
To achieve impressive business results, lottery companies allocated over half of their revenue to prizes and nearly 15% to commissions to agents. The lottery business not only contributes significant revenue to the state budget to support healthcare, education, and infrastructure investment but also provides employment for approximately 500,000 domestic workers.
Overview of the Lottery Market in Vietnam
Business situation of some large lottery enterprises in Vietnam
The potential of the lottery market in Vietnam is growing significantly. Currently, there are many proposals to the National Assembly to support increasing the issuance of lottery tickets due to the benefits this sector brings. However, there are still some pressing issues between street vendors selling lottery tickets and agents, such as agents not accepting unsold tickets or instances of fraud. Therefore, to make greater strides in the future, the government needs to take measures to rectify the operations of lottery agents in response to these challenges.
Source: Vietdata’s Vietnamese lottery market report in 2023