Vietnam’s traditional lottery firm reports profit despite computerized rival

Despite aggressive competition from an American-style computerized rival that offers significantly bigger prizes, the traditional lottery firm estimated 2019 revenue at VND8,900 billion ($379 million), beating target by nearly 8%.

Revenue from traditional lottery accounts for a major proportion in revenue structure. Nearly VND500 billion ($21.3 million) comes from scratch lottery, a new product that shows players the results immediately.

"Traditional lottery is still the main growth driver for this year. Scratch tickets are growing well, exceeding expectations", the company leader said.

In 2020, the company targets revenue and pretax profit at VND10.3 trillion ($438.7 million) and VND1.2 trillion ($52 million) respectively. The firm is researching a new type of lottery approved by the Ministry of Finance and Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee.

This product is expected to help the company improve revenue and regain market share from its direct competitor, Vietnam Lottery One Member Limited Company, also called Vietlott.