Vietnamese spend $4B a year on lottery tickets

Vietnamese spent more than VND1.37 quadrillion on lottery tickets from 2013 to 2025, or nearly VND105 trillion (US$4 billion) a year, according to a Finance Ministry report.

The spending grew an average of 10.2% a year over the period and rose about 10.5% in 2025 to VND177.2 trillion ($6.8 billion).

That works out to roughly VND1.73 million ($66) for each of Vietnam's 102.3 million people.

The south accounted for 87.8% of 2025 revenue, the central region 4.6% and the north 2.2%, with Vietlott's computerized games making up the rest.

The ministry said the gaps between regions and product types are widening. Regulators cap ticket sales per draw to keep the market's growth in check.

The lottery industry paid VND439 trillion ($16.7 billion) into the state budget over the 13 years, including more than VND57 trillion ($2.2 billion) in 2025. By law, all of it goes to local budgets for healthcare, education and social welfare.

A street vendor sells lottery tickets in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Dong

Vietnam has 63 state-run lottery companies, one for each of its former 63 provinces, owned by provincial People's Committees. They operate in three separate regional markets, while Vietlott, owned by the Finance Ministry, sells nationwide.

Products range from traditional lottery tickets and lotto to instant scratch cards and computerized number games.

The ministry credits computerized lotteries with curbing lo de, an illegal betting game based on official lottery results, and other illegal gambling.

Regulators say the industry provides jobs for around 500,000 poor and disadvantaged people through its network of ticket agents, the same figure the ministry cited in a 2022 draft decree on the lottery business.