Lottery firms in the southern region of Vietnam made a combined VND8.8 trillion (US$372.2 million) in profits in the first half of the year, up 10.4 percent year on year, so they proposed increasing lottery ticket issuance.

The current number of lottery ticket issues is not big enough to meet the huge demands of customers, heard a lottery conference held in Can Tho City on Monday.

The number has reached the limit as regulated, but demands for these tickets are enormous, VnExpress reported, citing the Southern Lottery Council.

At the start of the year, the cap on lottery prize values was adjusted up to VND120 billion ($5.1 million) from VND110 billion ($4.6 million).

Do Quang Vinh, chairman of the Southern Lottery Council, said that lottery activities are booming, so the council had earlier proposed the Ministry of Finance allow hiking lottery prize values to VND130 billion ($5.5 million) from October 1, an eight-percent increase. 

Speaking at the conference on lottery performance in southern Vietnam, Duong Minh Tu, vice-chairman of the council, said that lottery ticket sales in the southern region amounted to over VND68.8 trillion ($2.9 billion) in the first six months of 2023, up 16.4 percent year on year, with the average consumption rate reaching 98.46 percent.

Twenty-one lottery firms in the south contributed more than VND22 trillion ($930 million) to the state budget between January and June, rising 25 percent compared to the year-ago period.

Nguyen Van Hong, vice-chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee and chairman of the municipal Lottery Supervision Council, said that the lottery field in the city was not affected despite many challenges facing the economy.

In the first half of the year, Can Tho Lottery Company reported high profits and made a significant contribution to the municipal budget.

All lottery tickets are sold out each day prior to the prize announcement time, Hong said.

As such, many lottery firms expect to elevate lottery ticket issues to expand their operations and shore up revenue, Hong added.

Vinh, chairman of the Southern Lottery Council, said that some lottery outlets in Can Tho had raised ticket prices and prohibited lottery ticket vendors from returning unsold tickets, causing controversy.

Many ticket hawkers thronged streets and intersections at 3:00 pm each day before the prize announcement time to try to sell all of their tickets, posing high risks of traffic accidents.

Mai Minh Ngoan, chief of the office of the Can Tho Traffic Safety Board, said that the unit is planning to handle the problem.

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