Corruption in national lotteries

[alani123]

In Greece there's a raging scandal of huge proportions with agricultural subsidies. For those that are unaware the European Union gives to member states large amounts of money every year to distribute to direct producers of agricultural goods. Either animal or plant based production, everything above a certain size can apply for subsidies.

The issue with Greece is that corruption in past governments allowed for people close to the government to pass fake statements through the system and receive disproportionate subsidies.

Now, the scandal was unveiled by a central European prosecution authority. And when questioned about their money some of those that were close to the government just said "I won the lottery several times".

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

[PrivacyG]

When it comes to corruption, you should expect the least and the worst.  This includes 'faking' a Lottery win as in simply making it seem like they won when there is no real proof that they did.  There are enough Politicians in my country who fake a lot of their past and history with 'provable' documents and it works until they are caught.

For the situation Greece is in currently, I presume we will have to wait for more information to come out.  Maybe their statement that they won the Lottery multiple times was a big lie.  Maybe they actually did win the Lottery and the results could have been faked very well.  Or.  Maybe they did 'win' but there is no real proof except a name appearing on the list of winners, which will I suppose put them in big trouble and will unveil a larger scheme.

[Oshosondy]

Lottery can be rigged, it can be fake, it can be manipulated by insiders. It is even possible that someone that supposed to win the lottery would go and check if he won the lottery but they will tell him that he did not win it and the insiders would claim the money won. You know what people can do, some people can be very dubious.

[alani123]

Lottery can be rigged, it can be fake, it can be manipulated by insiders. It is even possible that someone that supposed to win the lottery would go and check if he won the lottery but they will tell him that he did not win it and the insiders would claim the money won. You know what people can do, some people can be very dubious.

It makes me wonder if these fools in the government really went so deep as to rig live televised lottery draws just to help their friends launder money. These games are already too profitable. State lotteries have an RTP of 60% or even 50%. They get to keep a huge portion of the millions and millions that passes through their system from gamblers. And yet they were so greedy over the already "free" and guaranteed profit.

In Greece the lottery monopoly was even privatised which raises even more questions. Why would the state sell a public corporation with guaranteed profits and how much of a real sale transaction would that be if even the private owners continue the same corruption.

[PrivacyG]

It makes me wonder if these fools in the government really went so deep as to rig live televised lottery draws just to help their friends launder money.

I find it hard to believe they went to this extent to rig the Lottery.  If Greece did it and the scheme is unveiled, a lot of countries are going to seriously question the State Lottery of their own and would cause a giant scandal in multiple countries.  Not that it would be impossible but I doubt they are this smart to televise rigged picks every week.  I find it more plausible that they did this in a much more simplistic way.

[Viscore]

The same scenario happens in our country. People wonder why bettors often win this time, which is very unusual compared to before. Many speculations arise about results manipulation, and it could be possible due to the number of winners every month.

When someone in power is greedy, it is easy for them to do so. They don't care about their reputation and credibility because what is important for them is money.

These corrupt officials found out that it was easy to launder money through gambling. It has now become a medium of big syndicates in most countries.

[julerz12]

Well, the same thing might be happening here in the Philippines. Way back in 2022, 433 people won the national lottery. Someone in X (Twitter) even stated that the probability of having 433 winners was 1 out of 1 followed by 1,224 zeros.  
There was also an instance where the said agency posted an edited photo of the winner holding a check.
Another scandal was that a lotto player won 36 times in 2023.  

Sources:
https://x.com/iamguidodavid/status/1576770835171274752
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63126558
https://www.rappler.com/business/cases-alleged-lotto-bettors-winning-multiple-times-explained-senate-hearing-march-2024/

[aioc]

Now, the scandal was unveiled by a central European prosecution authority. And when questioned about their money some of those that were close to the government just said "I won the lottery several times".

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

It should not; the citizen is looking for the government to uphold high standards. The government cannot continue running a corrupt system; heads should roll if they are faking a state-run monopoly lottery.
Lotteries should be free from manipulation because sales and support depend on bettors' trust.

There should be an investigation to clean the ranks and files of those running the national lottery. We also have a state-run lottery, and our government is keeping it as transparent as possible because sales depend on bettors' trust.

[Maus0728]

To answer your question about faking the lottery results to funnel corruption, yes you can do it easily. There is a similar case like this in my country last year where the state lottery blatantly faking the winners and they do not even space it in between months, the announcement of the anonymous winners were spaced in a span of days in different cities and provinces, there was even an "official" photo of the anonymous winner but it was debunked to be a badly photoshopped image and so people got so mad that they have stopped using this method of stealing the money of the people of my country. It is a sad reality but people have forgotten about this issue given that there were more corruption issues popping up recently.

[freedomgo]

It looks like that kind of thing doesn’t happen in your country, but here, corruption is still everywhere, including in the lottery.

This edited photo will issue never die as it's obviously a fake winner. People will always remember it. Their corruption became so obvious that they actually thought no one would notice. They really thought people were stupid.

https://agbrief.com/news/philippines/22/01/2024/pcso-lottery-winner-photo-editing-incident/

[Crypt0Gore]

The same scenario happens in our country. People wonder why bettors often win this time, which is very unusual compared to before. Many speculations arise about results manipulation, and it could be possible due to the number of winners every month.

When someone in power is greedy, it is easy for them to do so. They don't care about their reputation and credibility because what is important for them is money.

These corrupt officials found out that it was easy to launder money through gambling. It has now become a medium of big syndicates in most countries.

People in the government are the most feared in my country because they can make things happen and also make things disappeared, I won't be surprised if these people have already found a way to prove that they really won the lottery, you think they won't expect such day to come? They must have asked themselves several times about what would happen if somehow things get out of hand, the most corrupted people on earth are in the government offices around the world

[m2017]

Now, the scandal was unveiled by a central European prosecution authority. And when questioned about their money some of those that were close to the government just said "I won the lottery several times".

It turns out that thieving officials from different countries are completely inept at lying. When I read your post, I remembered that in my country, some officials are also very lucky at the lottery, as one of them "explained" his income by claiming he had won large sums in the lottery several times. Nothing can be done about it, as officials are very lucky at gambling.

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked?

Hasn't the story you described already answered your question?

And if yes, what should be the ramifications?

In all fairness, there should be an investigation and punishment for those responsible according to the law, but in reality, we all know how devious officials can be. They'll blame the most insignificant figures in the story, while the "big fish" get away unscathed.

State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

Now there is a reason for them to finally "see the light".

[Cointxz]

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

State lottery can be faked since it’s draw is via live and they can use different trick such as the weight of the ball for the winning number is much lighter compared to other balls.

Everything can be done behind the camera. In my country, there’s a scandal too about lottery when someone is winning everyday the jackpot prize while this is not happening in the past.

Our current government is corrupt to make this event possible so I believe this can happened too on your country.

[Porfirii]

In Greece there's a raging scandal of huge proportions with agricultural subsidies. For those that are unaware the European Union gives to member states large amounts of money every year to distribute to direct producers of agricultural goods. Either animal or plant based production, everything above a certain size can apply for subsidies.

The issue with Greece is that corruption in past governments allowed for people close to the government to pass fake statements through the system and receive disproportionate subsidies.

Now, the scandal was unveiled by a central European prosecution authority. And when questioned about their money some of those that were close to the government just said "I won the lottery several times".

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

Although I'm European this is the first news I have on this subject. Corruption among politicians is common news, but this "I won the lottery" argument seems too cheeky.

In the past, I heard stories about rich people buying winning lottery tickets with a premium for whatever reasons , even Laporta was once accused of having bought a winning lottery ticket and not having paid it. But when you have access to massive money you can't justify, even buying a great number of normal tickets can be profitable, and maybe this is what the protagonists of the OP's news did with public money.

[Sammye3]

Corruption is everywhere, even in minor institutions and business centers so definitely the government would be part of that as well. We have seen more corrupt practices than this in my country that it has become a norm and nothing can be done about it because they have the power and control and can manipulate any results right in from of our faces.

Faking a lottery winning should be a piece of cake for them as well, who knows maybe most of the winnings are fake as well. Or maybe there is no initial winner but just an unknown anonymous entity just to get people to buy more lottery tickets to generate revenue. It's really painful to see people we call our leaders act selfishly for their personal interest and do not have the people's interest at heart.

[coin-investor]

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

This is alarming; they are fooling their citizen if they are manipulating the results or the winners. How would they trust a government if there is a trust issue?
Corruption is everywhere, but it's different when it comes to the lottery, because many people put their hope in it. They are killing their hopes of winning if they can manipulate these numbers. If this happens to our country, which is a crazy country, there will be an uproar. I am a lottery bettor, and I cannot stand this kind of manipulation.

[Die_empty]

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

Corrupt individuals can do everything possible to cover up. They don't mind destroying the reputation of an establishment just to legitimise a fraudulent activity. These findings have destroyed the goodwill of the Greek lottery that took so many years to build. Many people might begin to avoid betting on the lottery since there is a general perception that results might be rigged. It's so disappointing that people in government defraud citizens they took an oath to protect.

[iv4n]

Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications?  

Of course they can. Those who do that should be punished pretty hard, just to show everyone else that the game has to stay clean & fair.

In Central Greece, one livestock farmer allegedly accumulated 6,000 winning lottery tickets in 2022. After an audit, he submitted a corrective tax declaration showing €300,000 as a parental gift from his mother.

https://en.parapolitika.gr/greece/107595/investigation-uncovers-thousands-of-lottery-winnings-in-greek-agricultural-subsidy-scandal/

Pretty interesting "scheme":

The supposed “winnings” are not jackpot-winning tickets, but many smaller winnings — which are easier to hide, combine, or cash out randomly without raising immediate suspicion.

People reportedly offered to buy legitimate winning tickets for slightly more than their face value (e.g., buy 100 € winning ticket for 110 €).

Somehow, I am not surprised... Using gambling is probably one of the oldest tricks to launder money. So I am sure this kind of "scheme" is working in many other countries too! These guys just got caught...

[stompix]

Now, the scandal was unveiled by a central European prosecution authority. And when questioned about their money some of those that were close to the government just said "I won the lottery several times".

So the problem is with corruption, not with lotteries!
I could claim I have made 100 million dollars I received by betting on Max Verstappen losing the title this year, would that mean Formula 1 is to be prosecuted or something?

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked?

Think for a moment, if they :
- could fake the lottery wins, why would they need the bribes
- If they are already rich on bribes, why fake the lottery?

Well, the same thing might be happening here in the Philippines. Way back in 2022, 433 people won the national lottery. Someone in X (Twitter) even stated that the probability of having 433 winners was 1 out of 1 followed by 1,224 zeros. 
There was also an instance where the said agency posted an edited photo of the winner holding a check.

The problem with lottery ticket chances is that the distribution is not uniform it's a known fact that numbers of 1-12 get played more , same for numbers 1-30 as they are part of the date of birth people are used to gamble upon as their "numbers".
That ticket was a weird one, that's why the weird number of winners, same would happen if numbers in a sequence like 11,12,13,14 or something else will be picked, or stuff like 7,12,19,84 which can make somebody's birthday.

[Wapfika]

This sparked a huge debate in Greece. Could state monopoly lottery results be faked? And if yes, what should be the ramifications? State lotteries are to many people the most trusted form of gambling still.

This is alarming; they are fooling their citizen if they are manipulating the results or the winners. How would they trust a government if there is a trust issue?
Corruption is everywhere, but it's different when it comes to the lottery, because many people put their hope in it. They are killing their hopes of winning if they can manipulate these numbers. If this happens to our country, which is a crazy country, there will be an uproar. I am a lottery bettor, and I cannot stand this kind of manipulation.

I believe it’s just the same effect if corruption is applied in any form including the lottery. There’s some worst corruption being applied than lottery like country healthcare, bank insurance and many more which is currently happening in the Philippines.

Corruption in lottery might be happening in the background for a long time since this game is centralized and can be manipulated by the head of the national lottery without getting bust.

We don’t know for sure but any centralized services is always prone to manipulation.