Woman denied $2 billion lottery prize due to damaged ticket
A woman from Quảng Nam province, Mrs. N.T.N. (born in 1971), purchased two lottery tickets from Thừa Thiên Huế Province Construction Lottery One-Member LLC (Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company) for VND 10,000 each. One ticket bore the number 386552 (F) and the other, 486552 (F). Both tickets were issued on October 14th.
On the same day, during the live draw, ticket number 386552 (F) won the grand prize of VND 2 billion, while the other ticket won a secondary prize of VND 50 million.
However, the winning tickets were partially damaged, with a part of the right bottom corner torn off, causing the loss of the unit digit of the numbers.
The lottery ticket that won the grand prize but was denied the reward. Source: NLĐ
Despite the Thừa Thiên Huế Police Department’s authentication of the tickets’ authenticity and confirmation that the numbers were not altered, the Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company refused to pay out the grand prize for the ticket worth VND 2 billion.
Mr. Trần Viết Nguyên, Chairman of the Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company, explained that the ticket was torn at a very critical position. He stated, “That is a very tricky position. For example, if we pay out the prize, they might question the reason and suspect the company of fraud, which we cannot prove. This is an important factor.” Mr. Nguyên also expressed the company’s willingness to resolve the matter in court.
An insight into Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company’s operations
Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company was established in 1989 as a spin-off from the Bình Trị Thiên Construction Lottery Company. On September 17, 1992, the Thừa Thiên Huế Provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No. 644-QD/UBND to establish the State-owned Enterprise Thừa Thiên Huế Construction Lottery Company. The company was ranked as a third-class enterprise by the Provincial People’s Committee in Decision No. 239/QD-UB on February 1, 2001.
The company’s primary business activities include lottery operations, gambling, and betting; agency, brokerage, and auction activities; and real estate and land ownership business.
As of December 31, 2023, the company had seven representative offices with no separate accounting units. The company’s charter capital as of the same date was over VND 49.3 billion, entirely comprised of owner’s investment capital.
Source: Financial Statements of Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company
According to the 2023 financial statements, the company recorded revenue of VND 417.6 billion. Lottery ticket sales accounted for approximately VND 417.2 billion (a 12.8% increase from 2022), while other revenue streams contributed VND 464 million. The company also recognized nearly VND 15.9 billion in financial investment income.
Operating expenses increased from VND 310 billion in 2022 to over VND 353 billion in 2023. Consequently, the company’s post-tax profit reached nearly VND 24.4 billion, a significant improvement of almost 26% compared to the previous year.
As of December 31, 2023, Thừa Thiên Huế Lottery Company held total assets of VND 128.3 billion, a 13.1% increase from the beginning of the year. Its payables amounted to nearly VND 41 billion, a rise of 11.4%.
Cash and cash equivalents witnessed a substantial surge of over 68%, reaching nearly VND 59.4 billion, with the majority held in term deposits of less than six months.
In 2023, the company disbursed VND 253.2 billion in prize money, a 7.1% increase from the previous year. The salary expense for key management personnel was VND 2.5 billion.
The financial statements also confirmed that there are no factors that raise doubts about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, and the company has in place measures and commitments to support its ongoing operations.
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