Thai Lottery
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Thailand's official national
lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
(, ) is administered by The
Government Lottery Office A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a mea ...
(GLO). The lottery is drawn on the first and the sixteenth of every month. It is one of only two forms of legalised
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
permitted in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, the other being horse racing in Bangkok. The lottery in Thailand is hugely popular despite the low odds of winning and the unfavourable
payout ratio The dividend payout ratio is the fraction of net income a firm pays to its stockholders in dividends: :\mbox=\frac The part of earnings not paid to investors is left for investment to provide for future earnings growth. Investors seeking high cur ...
. The payout ratio for the Thai lottery is 60%, as compared to worldwide averages of 74% for
bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...
, 81% for
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
, 89% for
slot machines A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...
, and 98% for
blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...
(basic rules). It is the most popular legal form of gambling in Thailand. Around 19.2 of 67 million Thais played the government lottery, spending 76 billion baht (US$2.3 billion) in 2014, according to the Family Network Foundation's Secretary Wanchai Boonpracha. Unlike in most countries, where the government licenses and monitors the lottery business, the Thai GLO itself prints and sells the tickets to wholesalers. The strict laws that forbid other gambling activities result in the GLO pocketing 28% of lottery profits for state use.


GLO charter

As the government lottery is a public concern and is a source of state revenue, it was made a state enterprise with a legal identity. The Government Lottery Office Act B.E. 2517 was enacted on 11 September 1974, and became effective on 1 October 1974.


History

Lottery tickets were first issued in the reign (1868–1910) of
King Rama V Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
. At that time the king granted the Royal Bodyguard permission to operate a lottery on the occasion of his birthday in 1874. Lotteries were then held intermittently until 1933 when they became a standard government revenue source. Over the years the price of lottery ticket has climbed from one baht to its present official price of 80 baht, although that price has been seldom observed, a surcharge invariably being added. The
military government A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel. Types of m ...
that took power in May 2014 has made lottery reform one of its priorities. Starting 16 June 2015, the military government has mandated that the price of a lottery ticket will not exceed 80 baht. Starting 1 August 2015, what is commonly called the "
jackpot Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to: Comics * Jackpot (character), a series of three Marvel Comics superheroes * ''Jackpot'' (British comics), a 1979–1982 British comic book * ''Jackpot Comics'', a 1941 American comic book from MLJ Publications ...
" or bonus first prize of 22 or 30 million baht will be eliminated.


Demographics

In Thailand, women play the lottery more than men by a small margin (52.6 against 47.4%).Ariyabuddhiphongs, V. (2006). "A test of the social cognitive model of lottery gambling in Thailand". ''International Gambling Studies'', 6, 77–93. Lottery gamblers tended to be drawn from working age brackets: 21–30 years (28.2%), 31–40 years (30.2%), and 41–50 years (21.8%). Almost two-thirds of lottery gamblers in Thailand (61.3%) were in low income bracket, earning almost a quarter less than the average monthly salary.


Play


Buying a lottery ticket

Since last summer's lottery reforms, it has been illegal to inflate ticker-pair prices above the 80 baht threshold. Though marked-up prices from street vendors are still commonplace, the ongoing crackdown has created significant difficulties to ticket sellers.


Lottery tickets

There are two types of Thai lottery tickets. The first is the Thai Government Lottery (TGL) ticket. The second is the Thai Charity Lottery (TCL) ticket. These titles are printed at the upper left of each ticket. Aside from the names, the two differ only in their first prize payouts and the amount of tax to be paid on winnings. TGL tickets have a first prize of six million baht, a bonus prize of 30 million*, and are taxed at 0.5%. TCL tickets have a first prize of three million baht, a bonus prize of 22 million*, and are taxed at 1%. Thai lottery tickets, whether TGL or TCL, are pre-printed, include a number of anti-counterfeiting features, and can only be purchased in "ticket-pairs". Each individual ticket is priced at 80 baht, and the ticket pair at 160 baht. Single tickets are not sold, only ticket pairs. Each ticket in a ticket-pair is identical except for: #The
pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...
s (centre of each ticket) #
Bar code A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...
s (lower right) #Unit (, ) numbers (2-digit numbers, lower centre. In the examples shown, "09" and "10", and "81", "82"). A "unit" consists of one million 40 baht tickets. Published prize amounts are honoured if the unit sells out. If it does not, prizes are reduced proportionately. On the verso of each ticket is the schedule of prizes, ancillary information, and conditions. * The bonus prize was eliminated by the military government after 1 Aug 2015.


Draw methodology (simplified)

Ten "guests" unaffiliated with the lottery attend each drawing to act as official witnesses. Drawings are held at GLO headquarters on the first and sixteenth of every month. Should either of these dates fall on a holiday, the draw is postponed to the next day. All drawings are televised from 15:00 to 16:00 on the day of the draw. The following procedure is followed: # One of the guests is named "Draw Chairman". # Guests inspect the equipment, numbers of balls, and search for anomalies. # Draw Chairman randomly selects balls (numbers) to initialize each draw machine. # Draw Chairman randomly selects a colored ball to determine the order of lesser prize draws. Four colored balls signify different prizes: yellow for 2nd prize, pink for 3rd prize, green for 4th prize, and blue for 5th prize. # Six-digit numbers are drawn for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th prizes. Total draws: 165. # Three-digit numbers are drawn for the 3-digit prize. Total draws: four. # A two-digit number is drawn for the 2-digit prize. Total draws: one. # A six-digit number is drawn for the first prize. Total draws: one. Also announced are the ±1 special prize numbers. # Draw a two-digit number for the Thai Government Lottery bonus prize of 30 million baht*. # Draw a two-digit number for the Thai Charity Lottery bonus prize of 22 million baht*. # Following the last three draws, officials remove balls from machines to show that all 10 numbers were present. * The bonus prize was eliminated by the military government after 1 Aug 2015.


Prizes

The first prize for all six correct numbers is 2 million baht (TGL) or 3 million baht (TCL) per ticket. As tickets are sold in pairs, the published prize amount is doubled. Doubling applies to all prizes except for the 22 million and 30 million baht bonus prizes. There are five-second prizes of 100,000 baht, ten third prizes of 40,000, fifty prizes of 20,000 for fourth, one hundred 10,000 baht prizes for fifth and a 50,000 baht consolation prize for the six-digit winning number plus or minus one. Lottery drawings on the first and sixteenth of each month are televised on
National Broadcasting Services of Thailand National Broadcasting Services of Thailand () (NBT) is the public broadcasting arm of the Government Public Relations Department (PRD), a division of the Thai Government. It operates comprehensive media services comprising radio, public televisi ...
and
Spring News Spring News was a Thai Television news channel owned by Spring News Television Ltd. part of News Network Corporation PCL. (formerly Solution Corner 1998 PCL.) Spring News debuted on satellite television via test broadcast on 5 March 2010. Its ...
starting at 14:30 on Spring News and 15:00 on NBT also simulcast on
Radio Thailand Radio Thailand () is the public broadcasting radio station in Thailand owned by the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand based in Bangkok. The station has six FM national radio, 65 FM provincial radio, three AM national radio, 46 AM provinc ...
Domestic Service. in 2016 the draw also simulcasted on
Thairath TV Thairath TV () is a digital terrestrial television channel owned by Triple V Broadcast Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the news publisher, Thairath, which was owned by Vacharaphol Co., Ltd., launched in April 2014 after they won a digital television ...
starting from 14:00. Towards the end of the show, just before 16:00, the winning numbers are displayed. Results are posted on The Government Lottery Office website.


Claiming a prize

Prizes must be claimed within two years of the draw date. Prizes of less than 20,000 baht are paid in cash by a lottery retail vendor. A one or two percent commission is deducted from gross winnings. For prizes of more than 20,000 baht, the winning ticket and its holder must be present in person at the government lottery office in
Nonthaburi Nonthaburi (, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand. On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality ('' thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai subdistrict (''tambon''), j ...
where a cheque will be issued. All winnings are subject to tax: 0.50% on the Thai Government Lottery and 1% on the Thai Charity Lottery.


Distribution of revenues

According to the act creating the GLO, the proceeds received by the Government Lottery Office from the sale of lottery tickets shall be allocated as follows: #60% as prizes. #not less than 28% as state
revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
. #not exceeding 12% as expenditure on administration inclusive cost of sales: 9% for
cost of sales Cost of goods sold (COGS) (also cost of products sold (COPS), or cost of sales) is the carrying value of goods sold during a particular period. Costs are associated with particular goods using one of the several formulas, including specific ident ...
and 3% for administrative costs.


Charities supported

The lottery generates four billion baht a year for the
Thai Red Cross The Thai Red Cross Society (; ) is a major humanitarian organisation in Thailand, providing services as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Bangkok. It is governe ...
, charities, community projects, and scholarships, and keeps many people, often disabled, employed as ticket sellers.


GLO international affiliations

The GLO is a member of the World Lottery Association (WLA) and of the Asia Pacific Lottery Association (APLA).


Underground lotteries

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...
lottery or ''huaytaidin'' (, ) dealers around the country operate lotteries estimated at four to five times the size of the official lottery, according to Associate Professor Dr. Sungsidh Piriyarangsan, Dean of the College of Social Innovation RSU. Underground lotteries are based on numbers drawn in the official lottery. These dealers offer better prizes, credit purchases, and more betting options. As a small underground lottery business can be started with just a notebook and a pen, they are ubiquitous, and an effective crackdown is impossible. So prevalent are Thai underground lotteries, they flourish even in Thai
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
communities abroad.


See also

*
Gambling in Thailand Gambling, other than betting on horse races or the government-sponsored Thai lottery, is prohibited in Thailand. The prohibition dates back to the Gambling Act 1935. The Playing Cards Act prohibits private ownership of more than 120 playing c ...


References

{{reflist, 2


External links


Government Lottery Office

Siam Lottery Official
Society of Thailand Lotteries by country Gambling in Thailand