Lottery in thailand is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the country. In fact, the country is spending $10 billion a year on lottery games in “huay tai in” (underground lottery houses). Despite this, government officials have made it a point to reform the lottery system in order to make it more accessible to the average Thai. This has resulted in the introduction of a maximum price per ticket and a new system that allows retail venues to buy tickets directly from GLO. The maximum price is also meant to discourage brokers from increasing the prices of the lottery tickets they sell.
Before the introduction of the maximum price, lottery dealers were able to mark up the cost of a ticket by a considerable margin. This was largely due to the number superstition that has long been prevalent in Thailand. People would purchase tickets that they considered lucky, and thus had a better chance of winning the big prize. Sadly, this type of lottery fraud was widespread and ended up robbing many players of their hard-earned money.
Since the introduction of the maximum price, many people have been able to play the lottery at much more affordable prices. In addition, the new system has eliminated the need for brokers to put a percentage on top of the official lottery prices. This means that the lottery is now available to people of all income levels in the country.
There are five prize categories in the thai lotto, with each tier offering a different amount of cash. The first prize is worth a whopping B5 million, with second place taking home B2.5 million, third place winning B1 million and fourth place getting B500,000.
In order to win a prize, a player must match all six digits in the correct sequence. The draw chairman will then select a colored ball to determine the order of lesser prizes. The balls are yellow for 2nd, pink for 3rd, green for 4th and blue for 5th prize.
Unlike in the West, where lottery winning numbers are typically chosen by chance, most Thais rely on superstitions when picking their numbers. For example, they might visit a temple or shrine and pray for good luck. Likewise, they might seek advice from monks who have a reputation for divining which numbers will be lucky. Others might even visit fortune tellers in the hope of getting a hint of which numbers will be successful.
To claim a prize, winners must present the winning ticket together with a valid ID card or passport for foreigners. In addition, they must pay 0.5% stamp duty on government lottery winnings and 1% on charitable lotteries. If they win more than 20,000 baht, they will need to present the winning ticket to the lottery office in person. The lottery is a popular form of entertainment in Thailand and has been played for centuries. However, the number of Thais who actually win the prize is very small.
