The image of a street vendor carting around a box full of lotto tickets strapped to his bicycle is a defining symbol of Thai street life. But the brown wooden box that these vendors carry around is not simply a marketing device, it’s an entry point into a deeper cultural phenomenon that connects faith, fate, imagination and superstition to Thailand’s societal fabric. The national lottery (Thai:
The lottery’s ubiquity is due in part to its relatively low cost. Unlike in many countries, where lottery tickets are sold individually, in the Land of Smiles players buy ticket pairs at 80 baht each. This allows them to share their luck with a friend, a practice that can significantly increase their chances of winning. The tickets also come with a set of anti-counterfeiting features and are printed with six-digit numbers that correspond to different prizes.
Although there are no guarantees that a person will win, the lottery is viewed as a way to change one’s fortunes and escape from a cycle of poverty that has long plagued the nation. This sense of possibility is especially strong among Thailand’s poor and lower middle class, which make up the vast majority of lottery participants. A study in the International Gambling Studies Journal found that more than half of those who play regularly are from households with less than $2,000 a month in income. It is no wonder, then, that dreams of a lottery jackpot can have devastating consequences when they don’t pan out.
Many people believe that there are a variety of ways to improve their odds at the near-unwinnable grand prize, including seeing lucky numbers in dreams or consulting online gurus like Thai Lottery King and My4Website, which have pages devoted to cryptic formulas for picking winning lottery numbers. In addition, some players try to avoid the most popular numbers and pick those related to negative events like car accidents or celebrity deaths.
For Bom, a frequent lottery player, his ritual begins with a look at his Line group chat where he and his friends discuss different strategies for selecting their numbers. Then he starts scribbling down a list of numbers, then crosses out one at a time in a specific pattern until only two remain. “If I can pick a number that will match my last two, then I’ll get the first prize,” he says with a conspiratorial wink. “Otherwise, I’ll have to go back to square one.” This is just one example of how the process of picking lottery numbers has become more than a game; it is an act of faith and hope.
