Public’s faith in lottery folds in Arakan State

By DMG 22 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
22 August 2022, Sittwe
 
The state lottery market is collapsing in Arakan State, according to ticket sellers. Sales have declined by half since the military coup last year, and are falling further, say sellers.
 
The state-run Aung Bar Lay Lottery, a lucrative source of government revenue, became a popular target of boycott campaigns when people refused to make payments of any kind, including taxes and utility bills, to the regime in an effort to cut off sources of revenue to the military junta that seized power in February 2021.
 
Since then, the regime has slashed the lottery prizes’ purse. People have had less interest in the state lottery as the top prize was reduced from K1.5 billion to K500 million, according to ticket sellers.
 
What’s more, public trust in the state lottery has declined as the draws of late have been late and not conducted in a transparent manner, said seller U Maung Cho.
 
“Previously, more than K100,000 worth of tickets were sold daily. Lately, sales have declined by more than 80 percent. Some days, there is not a single buyer,” he said.
 
According to some ticket sellers, demand has declined from around 5,000 tickets sold per month before the coup to around 100 per month since the putsch.
 
Ticket seller Ma Kyarzan May said: “Previously, there were many smaller prizes. However, not only big prizes but a large number of smaller prizes have been reduced. So, people are not interested in buying lottery tickets.”
 
People are also concerned about the difficulties they might face in withdrawing their prize money, said sellers.
 
“Previously, the draw was broadcast on television, but not now,” said Sittwe resident Daw Soe Soe Maw. “And it is difficult to withdraw money from banks, and we feel uncertain about how to withdraw money if we win a prize.”
 
Businessman U Khin Maung Gyi said the decline in lottery demand is directly proportional to declining public trust in the regime.
 
“The current government should review and adjust its financial and economic policies,” he said.