Over 61% of Thais buy lottery tickets regularly in hopes of striking it lucky and becoming millionaires. Many purchase these tickets through government-owned outlets, but others rely on underground ticket sellers who operate a back-alley lottery system run through apps such as Pao Tang. Unfortunately, these vendors often overcharge customers while also taking prize money away from winners. Recently, however, the Government Lottery Office (GLO) implemented measures against these unsavory ticket vendors by restricting them from paying prizes out directly in cash but instead mandating that winners utilize one of three other channels to collect their winnings and claim them from winning their winnings.
GLO officials will now distribute prize money to winners through bank transfers, electronic vouchers and iLadi’s more secure system – designed to prevent scammers from abusing it by creating false mobile applications to collect the prize money and then transfer it directly into their accounts. Furthermore, only banks registered with the National Registration Office will accept cash deposits through this method, while users cannot deposit more than 200,000 baht per transaction.
GLO’s new system will not only reduce scammers but also enable it to monitor lottery winners and verify their identities, with officials required to report any suspicious activity directly to law enforcement agencies. The crackdown forms part of its larger efforts towards making Thai lottery more open and fair for all Thais.
Thais take great joy in playing the lottery, and local media sources regularly report on various unconventional strategies Thais employ for finding their lucky lottery numbers. Many rely on online gurus offering formulas and strategies designed to help them win big at lottery. Some might even encounter signs that indicate which are their lucky numbers through dreams or supernatural signs.
Though these methods might appear unconventional, they do have their advocates. Bom, an outstanding Thai lottery winner who has won millions in prize money through playing lotteries, developed an elaborate system for selecting lucky numbers – even creating an entire Line group chat chat to share his lottery strategies with his friends!
Other Thais share Bom’s belief, and will go out of their way to ensure that luck in the lotto favors them. One man from Ang Thong province would only purchase tickets with the number 8618 on them – this being his license plate registration number! He would visit temples to pray to an imagined spirit who, according to Thai tradition, bestows financial fortune upon them. Others will spend hours studying license plate numbers from vehicles involved in accidents – both those that survived and those that did not – in an effort to find their luck. Some individuals go as far as looking up numbers associated with celebrity deaths or plane accidents in hopes of making a fortune from tragedy. Some might view this practice as bizarre; others view tragedies as opportunities that provide lessons.