[photopress:IT_lottery_ticket.jpg,full,alignright]The formidable triumvirate of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the General Administration of Sports have got together and banned the online sale of lottery tickets.
This is serious stuff and people caught selling tickets online face prosecution.
Wang Xuehong, head of Peking University’s research institute of the lottery, said online sales of lottery tickets pose many problems because it is difficult for buyers to distinguish legal websites from illegal ones.
Wang Xuehong said, ‘It’s impossible to know whether a website will actually buy lottery tickets for people after they hand over their money.’
Private operators have been caught masquerading as State-run lotteries on the Internet and some websites have provided illegal channels for gambling on sports and the underground Mark Six.
Some RMB363 billion ($49 billion) worth of lottery tickets were sold in 2006. Which makes it a major target for criminals.
Last month, the Legislative Affairs Office (LAO) of the State Council said the first regulations for the fast-growing lottery industry will be issued this year to stamp out fraud.
Legislators will draw on the experience of other countries and regions when drafting the regulations, which will cover distribution, sales, announcement of results and management of funds.
Ding Feng, deputy head of the LAO’s department of political science and law, labor, social security and legislative affairs, summed it up neatly when he said, ‘Other countries and regions put laws in place before they started holding draws. China did the opposite. The lack of laws and regulations has become a significant factor impeding the sound development of the industry.’
The authorities started work on a national regulation more than a decade ago, but divisions between different government departments have hampered its implementation. It most seriously has to be sorted out, and soon.
Source: China.org.cn