The operation of the Thai lottery is relatively straightforward. Players buy tickets and pin their hopes on a sequence of numbers, and if those match the winning numbers, they win. But the lottery is more than a form of gambling: it’s also a revenue generator for organizers, a source of entertainment for local communities, and a potential economic stimulus when winners, flush with cash, inject their winnings back into the economy.
Those grand aspirations are the reasons why every 1st and 16th of the month, when the winning numbers are drawn on television, hordes of people tune in with their tickets clutched in hand. The lottery’s impact on the country runs deep, spanning not only official government lottery vendors but an entire underground network of illegal sellers operating outside the scope of law enforcement.
Lottery numbers are selected based on personal beliefs and superstitions, from number-related events like celebrity deaths to a variety of other seemingly innocuous factors. One of the most common techniques is to visit temples and make merit in order to receive lucky numbers from monks. While this practice may seem strange to those who are uninitiated in Buddhist beliefs, it actually makes perfect sense. The lottery carries with it a certain aura of good deeds rewarded and aligns with central Buddhist doctrines of positive action yielding good fortune.
A giddy smile plays at Bom’s lips as he begins to explain his strategy for selecting his winning numbers. With a conspiratorial wink, he shows off his phone and a photo of a wheel of numbers. He starts by scribbling down a first set of numbers derived from the chart and then cross-out each digit in a specific pattern until he’s left with two digits.
Many Thailand lottery players also use esiimsi or siam si, an act of fortune telling that involves shaking a cup of bamboo sticks marked with numbers until a particular one falls out. These digits are then used as the final three digits when purchasing lottery tickets. The Sawang Arom temple is a popular place for locals to try this ritual.
Despite the fact that the Thai lottery is a form of gambling, it’s the only legal form in the country, and the odds of winning are high enough to attract a wide range of participants. The lottery is also a way for the government to generate revenue without having to raise taxes or limit gambling. In addition, the lottery is a great source of entertainment for locals and tourists alike, and it helps boost the economy.
