In Thailand gambling is big business. There are lots of different forms of gambling, including casinos, football pools, number games and even cockfights and fish fights. However, the biggest form of gambling in Thailand is lotteries. According to estimates, Thais spend $10 billion a year on illegal gambling, most of it in underground lottery houses called “huay tai din”. The government lottery is held twice a month and offers a top prize of about $67,000. The lottery is taken very seriously in Thailand and it is one of the only forms of legal gambling in the country.
The Government Lottery Office (GLO) organizes the lottery and operates it under a government-mandated framework that sets the rules for how the game will run. It also determines how much of the ticket sales will be used for state affairs and national needs. GLO sells tickets to wholesalers, which distribute them through a network of more than 14,700 authorized retail venues across the country. In addition, there are many street vendors who sell tickets in major cities. These vendors often increase the price of the tickets and keep the difference. They do this because they believe that the lucky numbers will help them win.
Each lottery ticket is printed on yellow, thin and smooth paper. It has a two-tone watermark of Wayupak, a mythical bird of Thailand, and contains a special chemical that will stain the paper if it gets wet. Moreover, the six-digit lottery number is preprinted on each ticket, which makes it harder to counterfeit. Despite these security measures, some people still produce and sell fake lottery tickets in Thailand.
There is a huge market for lottery betting in Thailand, and most of it is concentrated on European soccer matches. Some estimates suggest that as much as $2 billion dollars in bets change hands on these events every week. The problem is that the majority of these bets are placed by locals, who are unlikely to pay the winnings. This has led to a slew of scandals and lawsuits over the years, but no real solution has been found.
Although foreigners have been known to win the lottery in Thailand, it is not possible to purchase tickets outside of the country. This is because the tickets are only designed to be sold within Thailand, and the GLO has set rules that prohibit anyone from buying them from outside the country. Nevertheless, tourists have been known to win the lottery while they are in Thailand, and they can claim their prizes by visiting a GLO office. To do so, they will need to present their passport and pay a small tax. This is not to say that there are no legal ways for foreigners to play the thai lotto, but it is important to understand the culture and traditions of this country before trying your luck.
