Myanmar public boycott national lottery as backlash continues against military coup

The people of Myanmar will boycott the country’s national lottery as resistance against the military coup in February increases, according to a report in The Irrawaddy.
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The people of Myanmar will boycott the country’s national lottery as resistance against the military coup in February increases, according to a report in The Irrawaddy. 

The Myanmar national lottery has never been boycotted in its 143-year history and it comes as part of a wider Civil Disobedience campaign in backlash to the new regime.

Citizens are also avoiding other payments including tax payments and utility bill payments to avoid giving the new governing body any funding. 

As a result of the boycott, the lottery draw has been postponed and further prizes have been slashed in value from 1.5bn-kyat ($911,000) to 500m-kyat. Additionally, the lottery has failed to make payments of prizes to previous winners due to a cash shortage attributed to the boycott.

Lotteries are a historic and popular form of entertainment in Myanmar so the boycott is significant. The first lottery was introduced in 1878 by the country’s last monarch. The lottery became ever popular with the public, with 83% of the revenue going directly on prizes and just 17% going towards the state.

Following the boycott, lottery vendors, which are usually seen regularly, are shutting down across Myanmar.