Thailand Lotto (Thai Lotto) is one of Thailand’s most widely enjoyed forms of gambling, with over 19 million participants each month taking part. Drawings occur twice monthly with jackpots reaching 30 Million Baht; unlike many forms of gambling prize money is actually disbursed out directly into players accounts unlike many others; moreover it is one of only two legal forms of gambling, alongside Horse Racing; however its immense popularity does not go without criticism or controversy.
Criticism directed towards Thai lotto prizes largely centres around its non-acquiescence with strict criteria, with winners sometimes not receiving them immediately upon winning. This results in disputes; thus prompting reform efforts by the GLO. They want to sell tickets online at 80 baht per ticket to stop these disputes but retailers oppose the proposal, fearing that losing revenue may force them out of business altogether.
At present, most lottery players purchase their tickets from street vendors. These vendors typically charge more than the official price of 80 baht to cover operating costs; however, the government is actively cracking down on price-gouging retailers; some have even been arrested for selling fake tickets.
Thailand is no stranger to gambling, with lottery just one form of chance that its citizens play. Some of Thailand’s most celebrated figures are masterful at choosing lucky numbers – in the West people may turn to their local vicar for assistance; but Thais tend to visit shrines or temples and pray for an answer that could bring good fortune; some will even visit fortune tellers for clues from beyond which could give them an edge in games of chance like lottery.
Thais are adept at applying mathematics and statistics to games of chance, something the Western world could learn from. Their capacity for quickly calculating short odds could serve as a model.
Thai lottery draws take place every first and 16th of each month. The drawing process starts when a randomly chosen ball from each drawing machine is selected by a Draw Chairman; after initialization is complete, officials remove and confirm that all 10 numbers have been collected before drawing the last two-digit numbers for bonus prize of 22 million baht*.
Match all six digits correctly will receive a top prize of B20 million; those who get five will win B6 million; plus there are additional smaller prizes of up to B5 million for matching one, four or three of the numbers correctly. Last year however, GLO scrapped its jackpot prize for correcting not just six but also two additional digits which would have resulted in winning between B20-30 million.