Despite the grand aspirations attached to a lottery win, it is a simple game: participants buy tickets and pin their hopes on a sequence of numbers. If the numbers match those chosen in the draw, they win. The winner’s selection is decided by a random number generator to preserve the lottery’s integrity and ensure that winners aren’t simply picking the numbers they like best. The lottery is a major part of Thai culture, and it can play an important role in the economy: winnings are a significant revenue generator for lottery organizers, and the anticipation of winning can shift consumption patterns as individuals imagine how they might spend their windfall.
The lottery in Thailand is regulated by the Government Lottery Office (GLO). Tickets are sold through registered vendors who purchase them from the GLO, and they must register every batch of tickets before they can sell them. The lottery is one of only two forms of legalized gambling in the country, and it is an important source of revenue for the state. Prize money is distributed to winners by the GLO, and a 1% tax on ticket sales is deducted from winnings.
Lottery culture is rooted in Thailand’s religious, cultural and economic history. Fate, faith, imagination and superstition all converge in the lottery, and it is not uncommon for lottery purchases to become an investment in a better future. Some punters go even further, using a complex set of tools to predict their next lucky numbers. For example, Ranogajec, a former stock market trader from the United States, has spent millions of dollars in an attempt to crack the code of the lottery. His research into historical data and behavioural patterns has been highly publicized, but it is unclear whether he has cracked the mystery of how to predict lottery numbers.
Another common lottery strategy involves consulting the fortunes of animals, and locals are known to visit temples to make merit and glean information from monks regarding their personal lotto numbers. These activities are in keeping with Buddhist beliefs that good deeds will be rewarded, and they can also offer hope for those who have lost all other means of improving their lives.
Other lottery strategies include scribbling down a list of numbers and then crossing them out in a specific pattern, or shaking a cup of bamboo sticks marked with numbers to find the right combination. The latter method is often referred to as “esiimsi” or “echiiymchii,” and it can be done in many places, such as at Sawang Arom Temple, which is known for its holy water basin. The results of this practice are generally deemed to be more accurate than the use of candles.
