Burmese lottery
Aungbazay, meaning “may you win,” is Myanmar’s official monthly state lottery. It is run by the Ministry of Finance’s State Lottery Department, and tickets are printed in Wazi, Magwe Region, at the same plant that prints kyat notes and passports.
The first Burmese lottery appeared in the Konbaung Dynasty. A national lottery started in 1878 under King Thibaw Min to raise money, inspired by Pho Hlaing’s experience with the French lottery in Paris. It ended in 1880 because of problems such as corruption, low revenue, and opposition to gambling by Buddhist monks.
The current lottery began in 1938 under British rule and remains the only legal form of gambling in Myanmar. Lottery sales bring about US$28.8 million a year to the government, and more than 30 million tickets are sold each month for the monthly drawing.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:12 (CET).