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Vietnam's Lottery Sellers Face 'Three Nos': Lack of Contracts, Insurance, and Safety
🇻🇳 Vietnam /Economy & Trade

Vietnam's Lottery Sellers Face 'Three Nos': Lack of Contracts, Insurance, and Safety

From Thanh Niên · (1d ago) Vietnamese Critical tone

Translated from Vietnamese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Lottery ticket sellers in Vietnam operate without formal labor contracts, social insurance, or workplace safety protections.
  • Despite generating significant revenue for the state, their legal status remains ambiguous, leaving them vulnerable.
  • Lawyers are advocating for regulatory changes to improve their rights and benefits, including clearer profit-sharing and social insurance support.

The precarious situation of Vietnam's itinerant lottery ticket sellers demands urgent attention. These individuals, who form a crucial link in the lottery distribution chain and contribute substantially to state revenue—estimated at around 52 trillion VND in 2025 alone—find themselves in a state of 'three nos': no labor contracts, no social insurance, and no occupational safety. This stark reality, highlighted by Thanh Niên, underscores a significant gap in legal protections, leaving a large workforce vulnerable to exploitation and economic instability.

They are in a state of 'three nos': no labor contracts, no social insurance, and no occupational safety.

— Thanh NiênDescribing the vulnerable conditions of lottery ticket sellers.

The current legal framework, primarily Decree 30/2007/ND-CP, focuses on the relationship between lottery companies and their official agents, largely neglecting the critical role and rights of the individual sellers. This oversight allows agents to dictate terms, often through a 'buy-out' model that places the entire business risk on the sellers while they receive minimal commissions. This system perpetuates a cycle of uncertainty, where basic necessities like stable income and social security are far from guaranteed. The call for reform, echoed by numerous legal experts, is not merely about improving earnings but about establishing a fundamental legal standing for these essential workers.

The legal relationship between agents and street vendors is left open.

— Thanh NiênHighlighting the lack of regulation in the agent-seller relationship.

Lawyers like Hoang Ha are proposing concrete steps, including revising decrees and circulars to mandate minimum commissions for retail sellers and ensure transparency in profit distribution and ticket handling. The establishment of a legal status that offers protection against risks—from unsold tickets to personal accidents during their livelihood pursuit—is paramount. From Thanh Niên's perspective, this is an issue of social justice and economic fairness. While the lottery system generates immense wealth, it is imperative that the individuals who are instrumental in this process are not left behind, lacking basic rights and security. Addressing this oversight is crucial for a more equitable and stable economic landscape in Vietnam.

The proposal to increase the benefits for street lottery ticket sellers is well-founded.

— Lawyer Hoang HaSupporting the call for improved rights and benefits for sellers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Thanh Niên in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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