The thai lotto is one of the most popular forms of gambling in Thailand and offers the largest prize pool in all of Southeast Asia. It is regulated by the Government Lottery Office (GLO) and is held twice per month on the first and 16th of every month. The lottery is a state-run enterprise and has a strict legal framework that determines how prizes are awarded and how much of the total sum generated through ticket sales will go towards national causes. Unlike other lottery games, where players pick their own numbers, thai lotto tickets are pre-printed and the odds of winning vary each draw based on the number of tickets sold.
The GLO sells lottery tickets to wholesalers, who then distribute them through a network of more than 14,700 authorized retail venues throughout the country. Ticket buyers can purchase a single ticket or multiple tickets, and the results of each draw are announced shortly after the draws are aired on national TV. The thai lotto is available to people of all ages and backgrounds. A thai lotto ticket costs baht 10. The winner must visit a GLO office to claim their prize, and they can choose between cash or goods. The maximum jackpot is 30 million baht, but the odds of winning are usually much higher than that.
There are two major types of thai lotto tickets: Thai Government Lottery (TGL) and Thai Charity Lottery (TCL). The TGL lottery is only open to those within Thailand, but it’s still been known for tourists to win big, even though there’s no official way for foreigners to play the lottery in Thailand.
Each lottery ticket features a six-digit number and is printed on special yellow, thin, smooth paper with a two-tone watermark of a mythical bird called Wayupak. Additionally, there are two types of silk thread in the paper: one that can be seen with the naked eye and another that will only become visible under ultraviolet light. The paper is also coated with chemicals; a drop of bleach will cause the paper to stain, while those without the chemical will not show any stains.
Locals are permitted to sell the thai lotto tickets and are required to be registered with the GLO. They can either sell tickets from their homes or cart around a box full of lottery tickets strapped to the back of their bicycles. The street vendors are a ubiquitous sight in Bangkok and elsewhere in the country, but they struggle to make ends meet. In fact, the military government has made a point of reforming the lottery system in recent years to give more power and money to locals who work in the trade.
It’s not uncommon to see a thai lotto vendor outside of a restaurant or in a shopping mall, and their presence can be identified by the brown wooden box they carry with them. These vendors are often disabled and rely on the sale of thai lotto tickets to earn a living.
