When Bom, a blind street vendor, selects his lottery numbers each month, he has a strategy. He consults a chart with a wheel and a set of digits and quickly pencils down a list, then crosses them out one by one in a pattern. His meticulous procedure offers a glimpse into some of the mystique that surrounds Thai lotto culture. It is a ritual rooted in faith, superstition and imagination. The lottery is more than a game; it’s an investment in the future, a vehicle for social change, and a source of income for many of Thailand’s poorest citizens.
The government-run lottery (Thai:
A number of facets make the lottery unique among gambling activities: it’s a popular pastime for poor and middle-class individuals, it’s a vehicle for making merit at temples, and it’s deeply embedded in Buddhist beliefs, where the lottery is a manifestation of good deeds being rewarded. Moreover, the lottery is an important way for disabled people to earn money—as they are frequently excluded from other jobs due to barriers such as accessibility issues at the workplace.
Despite its popularity, the lottery is a controversial activity in Thailand. Activists have protested the sale of tickets for political reasons, as well as its perceived connection to corruption in the military dictatorship’s era of power. Currently, the lottery is still used as a political tool to influence voters and promote certain policies, although it has been criticized for being a major drain on the country’s budget. It is also a major cause of poverty in the country, with an estimated two-thirds of those who play it being in the lower middle and poor classes.