Thais love the lottery, and they’re not shy about betting big. They wager more than $2 billion dollars a year on European soccer matches, including those of the English Premier League. It’s a phenomenon that has spawned entire news outlets in Thailand, including the popular Match and Win magazine. The lottery is a national pastime and is regulated by the Government Lottery Office (GLO). The GLO prints the tickets and sells them to wholesalers, who then sell them to customers. It’s illegal to place bets on other sports or races, which has made the lottery a major source of revenue for the country.
The national thai lotto has two draws every month and results are broadcast on the 1st and 16th day of each month. It is free to play and foreigners are welcome to participate. Winners have two years to claim their prizes. The top prize is six million baht, which is the equivalent of approximately $67,000. The twice-monthly lottery offers a chance to become richer than most people in the world at relatively low cost.
Each thai lotto ticket features a six-digit number. To discourage counterfeiting, the tickets are printed on special yellow, thin, and smooth paper with a watermark of Wayupak, a mythical Thai bird. The paper also contains two types of silk thread – one that can be seen with the naked eye and another that becomes visible only under ultraviolet light. The tickets are also coated with chemicals. When dropped in bleach, the papers will show stains that are proof of authenticity.
Although the winning numbers are pre-printed on the tickets, some Thais still believe in superstitions when choosing their numbers. Many will visit a temple or shrine to pray for the right numbers while others go to fortune tellers hoping to get some hints about which digits will come good. When a respected monk dies, some will visit his temple not only to pay their respects but also to look at the numbers on his gravestone in the hope that they’ll be lucky.
Some Thais also turn to the Internet for a little help in choosing their numbers. There are several websites that offer hot and cold numbers, which are the digits that have recently been drawn in the lottery. Some websites even allow you to subscribe to receive notifications and emails upon the completion of each monthly drawing. For maximum peace of mind, it’s best to check multiple sites. This will ensure that you’re not missing any results.
