The Government Lottery Office (GLO) in Thailand runs the country’s official lottery. It holds two draws per month, on the first and 16th of each month. The smallest prize is 1,000 baht for a six-digit winner. The biggest prize is the jackpot, which can be a life-changing amount of money. The prize amounts are published on the GLO website.
Thais are big gamblers and have a deep love for numbers. While gambling is officially illegal and frowned upon by Buddhism, people are not afraid to try their luck with the Thai lotto. In fact, they often spend more time playing the lottery than they do praying or going to church.
While there are many ways to get lucky in the lottery, none of them are foolproof. Some lucky people claim to have consulted monks in hopes of receiving hints about which digits will bring them the most fortune. Others use their local vicar, while still others turn to fortune tellers or even a simple coin toss to determine which numbers are most likely to yield the desired result. In fact, when a respected monk dies, crowds flock to his temple not only to pay their respects but also in the hopes of picking up a few lottery hints.
The superstition surrounding numbers is endemic in Thailand. It is not uncommon to find Thais perusing the license plate numbers of crashed cars on highways in hope of finding a number that will lead them to good fortune. Some even go so far as to visit the shrines of Mae Nak, a ghost who was said to be able to help in cases of bad luck.
In order to discourage counterfeiting, the official government lottery tickets have a watermark of Wayupak, a mythical bird from ancient Thailand, and are printed on special paper that reacts with bleach. This helps to ensure that the ticket is authentic and the prize money is paid to the right person. Despite these measures, some lottery dealers and operators run parallel lotteries that can be 5 times larger than the official government lottery.
While the government has made great strides in ensuring a fair lottery, tickets are still sold only at authorised dealers and street vendors. Those looking to play the thai lotto can find a list of approved sellers on the official government website. The official results are published on the website as well.
Although the official government lottery is a legitimate operation, there are many illegal operators that run parallel lotteries to boost their profits. These underground lotteries have become a major headache for the police and have led to violence in some instances. The popularity of the lottery has also given rise to an increasing number of scams that target foreigners who are eager to win the jackpot. Some of these scams include offering false lottery numbers in exchange for a cash payment. Other schemes involve stealing personal information from unsuspecting players and then using that information to steal their winnings.
