The lottery is one of the only two forms of legal gambling in Thailand, and it is played by over 19 million Thais; a whopping 28.6% of the country’s native population. For many, the lottery is a way to make ends meet, but the business is not without its challenges, and when a military government took power in 2014, lottery reform was high on the agenda.
Lottery tickets are printed on special yellow, thin, smooth paper with a two-tone watermark of the mythical bird Wayupak and chemicals that can only be seen under ultraviolet light. To deter counterfeiters, the paper is also coated so that drops of bleach will not show up. This makes the lottery a very safe form of gambling, especially for those with limited access to banks.
Each ticket carries a two-digit prize amount (for example, if number 45 is drawn you win ThB 2,000), and four three-digit prizes, each worth a maximum of ThB 4,000. If a two-digit number matches the winning six digits, the top prize is a large sum of money, e.g., enough to buy a small condo. The top prize is announced on the government lottery website at around 5pm on lottery days.
For those who do not want to wait for the results, the lottery can be played on a smartphone or tablet with an app called Pao Tang, which lets you check winning numbers and purchase new tickets. The app is available in the Google Play Store and can be accessed by searching for “Pao Tang.”
While few people in the West would head to their local vicar in search of lottery numbers, Thais regularly seek out spiritual guidance from monks, fortune tellers, and even the deceased. When a revered Buddhist monk dies, people flock to his temple not just to pay their respects but also in the hope of picking up some hints as to which numbers are lucky.
Despite these superstitions, there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to selecting lottery numbers. However, if you are looking for some luck, try to look at the previous draw results and see if there is a pattern as far as hot and cold numbers are concerned. This way, you can select the best numbers to increase your chances of winning.
If you’re lucky enough to win the jackpot, you will need to visit a local lotto office. You will need to present your winning ticket/s and a proof of identity in order to claim your prize. Once you have been verified, you will then be given a queue number. You should be prepared to wait for a long time. The winner will then be awarded their prize in cash, which will usually be equal to the amount of the top prize plus the percentage share of the second and third-place prizes. In some cases, the jackpot may be paid out in a lump sum, depending on how much was collected by the organiser.
