Lottery in thailand is one of the most popular forms of gambling in the country. While gambling is officially illegal and frowned upon by Buddhism, there are plenty of gambling dens throughout the country and lottery tickets can be found everywhere. Even bus tickets have a lottery number. The lottery is so popular in Thailand that some estimate that the country spends over $10 billion a year on it.
The Thai government runs the official lottery, known as the TGL or TCL. This lottery is held twice a month, on the first and 16th of every month. The jackpot is typically between 22 and 30 million baht. The jackpot is split amongst the winners in order to make sure that most people get some prize money. The prize money is determined by the number of winning digits that are matched and the total number of winning tickets sold.
Each ticket in the thai lotto is printed with six-digit numbers and contains a barcode that can be verified at a GLO office or by using an official mobile app. The tickets are also printed on special paper that is made to be durable and features a watermark of Wayupak, a mythical bird of Thailand. The tickets are also marked with chemicals that will stain the paper if they are exposed to bleach, and a special mark on the back of each ticket makes it possible to identify it if it is fake.
Winners of the thai lotto must present their ticket with a passport for foreign bettors and their identification card or driver’s license for local bettors. They must also sign the back of the ticket to verify that they are the true winners. If they are foreign bettors, they must also pay a 0.5% stamp duty on their winnings.
Despite the government crackdown, some people still rely on superstitions to pick their numbers. For example, many people visit monks to pray for lucky numbers. Others may see animals in the buildup to the draw and consider this a sign that they will win. Moreover, some people use candles to dip in holy water in the hopes that the numbers will be revealed when they touch them. In addition, people also visit fortune tellers to give them hints about their lottery numbers.
Although the thai lotto has a centralized system, some illegal operators and dealers have their own parallel lotteries. These underground lotteries have the capability to distribute prizes that are up to 5 times larger than the official ones. They have a wide network of operators and dealers and have become an important part of the country’s economy.
Each year the lottery office turns in over 4,000 million baht to the treasury and provides 440 scholarships of 20,000 baht each for undergraduate students. It also contributes close to 20 million baht each year to charity organizations and the welfare fund of civil service and military personnel. However, the lottery has been criticized for its reliance on a large amount of public funds.
