Vietnam Lottery Goes Mobile Following State Approval

Canada's Pacific Lottery Corporation (PLC) has received exclusive approval from the Government of Vietnam to introduce the company's proprietary mobile phone lottery technology platform, MobiLot, allowing Vietnamese lottery players to purchase products from the state authorised online lottery program via their mobile phones for the first time.

The receipt of Ministry of Finance approval was the last regulatory hurdle for the company, and clears the way for the immediate commercial use of its new MobiLot technology by the state-run lottery.

PLC has agreed to supply its MobiLot technology to the Vietnamese lottery under the same terms and conditions as its existing and exclusive ten year online lottery technology supply and services agreement, which runs until 2018.

Under this agreement, the company will receive gross compensation of 8% on all lottery sales processed through the new mobile phone application.

The application will allow Vietnamese lottery players to purchase lottery products via their mobile phones, for the first time ever in the country. Previously, players were limited to purchasing their lottery products only from land-based retailers using traditional lottery terminal distribution channels.

PLC will immediately begin the implementation and integration process with all Vietnamese state-owned mobile phone carriers for the new service, which is expected to be launched within the next 100 days. According to the company, recent estimates suggest that the country has up to 40 million registered mobile phones users, which is expected to grow to 55 million by next year.

PLC said it expects the new mobile distribution channel to significantly expand accessibility to the lottery as well as increase the lottery's sales performance, while also working in conjunction with the company's daily live broadcasting of lottery draws on Hanoi TV (more).