Lottery in Thailand is an integral part of life; one of only two forms of legal gambling in the country, it draws a staggering 19 million participants or 28% of its national population every month to two draws held twice monthly on the 1st and 16th, broadcast live across state TV and social media channels. Many Thais view lottery purchases not simply as entertainment but an attempt at breaking out of poverty by purchasing lottery tickets – buying lottery tickets can provide wealth and prestige that helps alleviate current hardship.
Tickets printed on yellow, thin and smooth paper feature anti-counterfeiting features to avoid counterfeiting, such as six-digit numbers on their face and back as well as special watermarks such as Wayupak birds that only can be seen under ultraviolet light. Furthermore, coated papers contain chemicals which react with bleach drops; any time this reaction occurs is an indicator that it could be fake paper.
As for Thai Lotto itself, its rules are fairly straightforward: Matching all six digits of a winning ticket will bring home the grand prize of B30 million; matching any six will win the second prize of B40 million and so forth. There are special awards available if all six numbers match, as well as special rewards for matching first and last digits; third and fifth prizes also contain some substantial amounts; however they do not come close to matching up against that grand prize!
With downward mobility being so low, it comes as no surprise that people would look for any chance they can to get rich quick – be it investing in stocks or cryptocurrency trading; foreign exchange trading; Ponzi schemes or lottery playing. Lotteries appear to be among the most widespread and serious of such endeavors – yet does their popularity mirror an hopeless or hopeful society?
Thais tend to become fixated on winning the jackpot lottery despite its low odds, seeking any and all strategies for increasing their chances of success; from praying to spirits to collecting license plate numbers from accidents they survived or died in and even studying the shapes of leaves on certain banana trees.
Street vendors account for an overwhelming portion of lottery ticket sales in Thailand, often at great financial strain. As a result, many people put their hopes of a better future on a process which is doomed to fail – as was tragically demonstrated when one man in Chiang Mai killed himself after selling his motorcycle to buy lottery tickets that never won and leaving a note explaining that this lottery ticket purchase was his sole way out of poverty.