Thai lottery is the official national lottery of Thailand, held twice a month on the first and 16th of each month. It is one of two legal forms of gambling in the country, along with betting on horse races. The lottery draws are televised live and are a huge draw for both locals and foreign tourists. The top prize is 30 million baht, or about $1.3 million USD.
The thai lotto is run by the Government Lottery Office (GLO), which also prints and sells tickets to ticket wholesalers. In 2014, the GLO sold more than 67 million tickets to people across the country, with most of the money going to people who bought a single ticket. The rest is used for public works, education, and social development.
When it comes to choosing numbers, many Thais are superstitious and look for clues in everyday occurrences. The number of spots on a dog’s ears (three, for instance, represents health), the numbers on a license plate (six is a good luck number), snakes and rats (both are linked to the number six) and other omens are all believed to be signs of winning lottery numbers. Some people even head to a monk’s temple to pray for the right numbers, and some fortune tellers are known to have a knack for divining the winning digits.
While the top prize may not be as large as some international lotteries, winning the thai lotto still requires a massive amount of luck and faith. Even though the odds of winning are listed on the ticket, these odds change drastically with each draw. The odds are determined by how many tickets are sold, which numbers are chosen and the total number of winners.
In addition to the thai lotto, there are several other lotteries in Thailand, which offer smaller prizes but are favored by locals because of their easy accessibility and lower costs. There are also a few online lottery sites that accept players from outside the country, but this is strictly illegal.
Another popular form of gambling in the country is placing bets on soccer games, especially European soccer matches. According to one bookie, at least $2 billion dollars in bets are placed each year. This booming industry is not without its problems, however, including corruption and match-fixing. A number of Thais have been jailed for this activity, but the practice continues despite efforts by the government to crack down on it. For this reason, it is best to avoid betting on soccer games in Thailand.
