Illegal two-digit lottery’s popularity rising in Arakan State

By Admin 06 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
6 September 2023, Sittwe

Illegal two-digit lottery participation has become rampant across Arakan State, both in urban wards and rural villages, according to local residents.

To bridge the gap between incomes and expenditures at a time when prices are high and jobs are scarce, many people turn to gambling in hopes of acquiring large sums by investing little.

“It is fair to say every adult in wards and villages plays the two-digit lottery in our township,” said Ma Than Than Win from Apaukwa Village in Kyauktaw Township.

Double-digit gambling rose in popularity in the early 2000s, but interest waned between 2010 and 2014.  A revival has reportedly been playing out since the February 2021 coup, with significant financial consequences for many participants.

“I have often heard about people having to pawn their houses and farms after losing their money in double-digit gambling,” said Kyaukphyu resident U Aung Aung.

The jackpot is sizable, as winners can win up to 80 times the amount they paid for the ticket. But odds of winning are slim, at just a 1 percent chance. The two-digital lottery can be played twice a day.

Most two-digit gamblers are lower income workers hoping that if they win, they will be able to better meet their kitchen table expenses.

But while many gamblers become heavily burdened with debt, bookmakers get richer and richer, critics of the gambling environment say.

“At first, people only pay [gamble] with a small amount of money,” said a woman from Thabyaykan Village in Mrauk-U Township. “But as they suffer losses, they bet more and more to recover their losses, which only results in heavier losses. In this way, they become trapped in this circle of losing and playing.”

Some have lost all of their savings and have had to sell their property, and couples have reportedly separated due to fights over gambling losses. There have even been suicides attributed to gambling habits gone awry, according to residents.

“I started by playing with little money,” said a woman from Pauktaw Township. “Finally, I had to sell all my property, including my house and jewellery. By the time I felt remorse, I had already lost everything.”

While many people in Arakan State live in poverty, the increased popularity of the double-digit lottery is pushing them toward a more abject form of destitution, said residents.

Myanmar’s Gambling Law carries one to three years’ imprisonment for selling two-digit and three-digit lottery tickets, but large bookmakers are rarely punished, according to residents.

“Police don’t arrest bookmakers as they are bribed,” said Ramree resident U Zaw Min Thein.

It will take time to crackdown on illegal participation in two- and three-digit lotteries, Arakan Army spokesman U Khaing Thukha said at a press conference earlier this year.