Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has defended its decision to allow an American-style computerized lottery in the country, saying that the platform is running with transparency.

The ministry, which runs Vietlott, made the comment after many raised their eyebrows over the entry of a foreign partner in the lottery industry, which is a service exclusive to the state, according to Tuoi Tre News.

Vietlott partnered with an indirect subsidiary of Malaysia-based firm Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp), which was granted an 18-year investment license to operate the computerized lottery in the country in January.

Responding to government critics, Ministry of Finance deputy head of the finance and banking bureau Nguyen Hoang Duong contended that “Vietnam is inexperienced in this new business model” of running a computerized lottery.