Thai Lotto (, Thai lotto in Thailand) is the official national lottery of Thailand and administered by the Government Lottery Office (GLO). Held every first and 16th of each month, this form of legal gambling joins horse racing as the country’s two forms of legalized gambling. Offering single and multi-draw betting as well as bonus prizes when certain numbers match, players may participate either physically in Thailand or online via various websites.
Thai people have an affinity for betting, and many consider the lottery an effective means of increasing their odds of success at winning big money. Indeed, the lottery generates approximately four billion baht per year for charities while providing employment to people with disabilities who would otherwise go unemployed – not surprising then that superstitions about numbers and luck run deep through Thai culture.
Thai lotto players who hope to find success often look for luck in unusual and even supernatural sources, including buying tickets with numbers appearing in dreams and temple visits with prayers for a ghost that grants financial prosperity. Some go all-out like one man who sold his motorcycle just so they could buy lottery tickets – unfortunately their hope of becoming millionaires wasn’t fulfilled and he ended up taking their own life instead.
Some people turn to animals to predict their lucky numbers, especially when found in unexpected places or behaving strangely. If someone sees a tortoise plodding along in the middle of a road, they’ll take it as an omen that they will soon hit the jackpot; similarly, when tarantulas come crawling out from their holes in the woods some may assume this means their furry fortune teller has predicted future lottery results.
If you’re lucky enough to have won, claiming your prize in Thailand is relatively straightforward. All it takes to collect cash prizes is showing your ticket/s and an ID card or passport (for foreigners). There will only be one caveat: stamp duty may be assessed of 0.5% on TGL winnings and 1% for TCL ones.
Thai lotto is an immensely popular form of gambling in Thailand, estimated to be played by up to 70% of its population despite being illegal in certain states and being difficult to crack down on its underground lottery system. Furthermore, this phenomenon has given birth to an entire industry dedicated to this form of betting which shows no signs of abating anytime soon – in coming years, expect an exponentially rising number of winners as more platforms (including mobile devices ) offer access.