Lottery in thailand is a popular pastime, and the game is played by people of all ages and from all walks of life. It is a form of gambling that is regulated by the Thai government and is not available for purchase outside the country. The winnings are distributed according to several categories. Most of the money is used to fund state projects, while a smaller portion goes to charity.
Each lottery ticket is printed on yellow, thin paper that is smooth and features a two-tone watermark of a Wayupak bird. In addition, the paper is coated with chemicals that make it difficult to tamper with. To test the authenticity of a lottery ticket, one can drop a few drops of bleach on it; the chemical reaction will produce visible stains.
Unlike in the West, where the selection of numbers for the lottery is mostly based on chance and logic, in Thailand, many people use omens and talismans to pick their numbers. They also visit monks to pray for lucky digits, and some even pay their respects to dead monks in the hope that they will leave behind some lottery hints (for example, the number of spots on a monkey’s fur, snakes linked to the numbers five and six, or rats representing the number one).
The Thai government runs the government lotteries, and all the tickets are pre-printed. The GLO also distributes tickets to street vendors and wholesalers, who then sell them at local markets and shops. In fact, more than 70 million lottery tickets are sold each year. The GLO uses 28% of the total revenue to fund state projects and public utilities.
While the odds of winning the top prize in a Thai lottery are only one in a million, most players still consider their numbers carefully and look for signs that they might be lucky. For example, some look for figures in barks of trees, a snake’s spots, the numbers of rats, or other omens.
In the past, lottery winners in Thailand had to go to the GLO headquarters in Bangkok to claim their prizes. To do so, they needed to bring their winning ticket and a valid ID document or passport (for foreign bettors). If the prize was less than 20,000 baht, they could receive it on the same day. For larger amounts, they would have to wait for 15 days. They must also shoulder a stamp duty of 0.5%. This is the same as the stamp duty that applies to other types of Thai documents.
