The lottery is the most popular form of gambling in Thailand. Each year, millions of Thais buy tickets in hopes of winning the coveted grand prize. But while the glitz of the lottery may be alluring, it is also an important source of income for people across the country and a unifying cultural experience. While the lottery may be a game of chance, fate, faith and imagination play an equally crucial role in its success.
Whether it is a street vendor carting a brown wooden box of tickets strapped to his bicycle or a solitary man at a ghost shrine selecting numbers, lottery-playing methods in Thailand are deeply rooted in the country’s religious, political and economic history. From calculating short odds to gleaning luck from dreams, the possibilities are nearly endless.
Lottery Online
The national lottery is operated by the Government Lottery Office (GLO) and offers two major categories of games: TGL and TCL. Both lottery games offer a variety of prizes, including cash, free tickets and sports team drafts. The lottery is pre-printed and includes a number of anti-counterfeiting features. Tickets can only be purchased in ticket-pairs, with each individual ticket costing 80 baht. The ticket pair contains two sets of five numbers and one additional number for the bonus prize.
Each drawing takes place on the 1st and 16th of every month, and is broadcast live on television. Thousands of Thais gather around their TVs to watch the draw and see which numbers are drawn. Prizes range from a few hundred thousand baht to the top jackpot of 22 million baht. In addition, a special three-digit number is also drawn for the charity prize of 2 billion baht.
Lottery winners have an opportunity to change their lives in a matter of minutes, and the promise of sudden wealth fosters a sense of hope and optimism. This is especially true for people living in poverty, who are often unable to improve their economic situation through other means. A recent example is a man from Chiang Mai who committed suicide after the lottery tickets he sold to support his family did not win.
Despite the lottery’s reputation for being a source of corruption, it is largely regulated. For the most part, tickets must be sold by registered vendors. In addition, the majority of proceeds are allocated to prize money and no more than 28% for state revenue. Nevertheless, the lottery remains controversial, and it has occasionally been used as a political tool. For instance, in 1973, activists burned down the GLO building to protest a military dictator’s misuse of lottery profits. More recently, Buddhist monks have led campaigns to pressure the GLO to use lottery profits to pay farmers. Despite its controversy, the lottery continues to thrive in Thailand and serves as an important source of revenue. Besides its commercial value, it is a key part of the nation’s culture and an important symbol of hope.
