A street vendor carting around a brown wooden box full of lottery tickets strapped to their bicycle is an image synonymous with Thai street trade. The lottery is one of two forms of legal gambling in the Land of Smiles, taking place twice a month on the first and 16th and is played by over 19 million Thais; that’s 28.6% of the native population.

The premise is simple: participants buy a ticket and pin their hopes on a sequence of numbers. Those who match all six winning numbers win a prize. It’s a revenue generator for organizers, a source of entertainment, and a potential economic stimulant. The promise of sudden wealth unites people in a shared dream and can even change consumer behavior.

Thai Government Lottery (TGL) and Thai Charity Lottery (TCL) tickets are pre-printed with a number of anti-counterfeiting features,[1] include an initialization ball, and can only be purchased in “ticket pairs”. The cost of a pair is 80 baht or 160 baht respectively. They are also only sold within Thailand, though some foreign tourists have been known to purchase them in airports and other international locations.

Winners can claim their prizes at the TGL or TCL offices by presenting their winning ticket/s and ID card, or passport for foreigners. They must pay 0.5% stamp duty on TGL and 1% on TCL winnings. Winnings of less than 20 million baht are paid out by vendors, who must collect and pay the taxes on the winners’ behalf. The TGL and TCL used to offer a second-prize bonus prize of B2 million for matching all six winning numbers; this was eliminated by the military government after 1 August 2015. The TCL still offers a bonus prize for getting all three digits right.