Hardscrabble lottery vendors hit by digital revolution

[webfact]

A lottery vendor waits patiently for buyers in Bangkok.

 

Small lottery vendors across the country are now dreading the expansion of digital lottery tickets – which are sold not just through major private electronic platforms but also on the popular Paotang application. Selling tickets for the government lottery has long been a lifeline for underprivileged, elderly and disabled Thais. However, that source of income is drying up.

 

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for us to sell tickets these days,” said Som, a small-time lottery vendor.

 

A Loei native, Som has roamed Bangkok’s streets selling lottery tickets for nearly two decades now. Her once secure livelihood is now in jeopardy, though, because many customers have switched to buying digital tickets for the 6-digit government lottery.

 

“I had some 100 unsold tickets on the day the last lottery draw was held,” she said. “I was very anxious and worried. If I had failed to sell them, I would have had to shoulder the loss.”

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/hardscrabble-lottery-vendors-hit-by-digital-revolution/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-08-13

 

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[Excel]

Yes feel very sorry for them when 80 baht tickets are sold way over their face value. My my what a surprise people are now starting to buy them on line.

[chuang]

Just a few days ago I was quoted 110 bahts for a single lottery.. Cheapest you can find is 90/100 bahts..

So why not buy online for 80 bahts....Who to blame if the vendors insisted on selling high..

[Gottfrid]

Why feel compassion with the lottery sellers that can no longer sell? This is just a result of their own actions. If they had kept to the price standing on the ticket, there would still not be any system for selling online. They have just dug their own grave, and are now searching for all other things to blame. Finally one part of the population gets to feel the result of their own actions.

[marcho]

Just sell them at 80 baht and they will sell them al. Oh no i want to make more money on them then that!!!

[Orinoco]

Don't buy lottery tickets anymore.

as i don't do banking on my telephone.

Oh well.  a large Leo with 20 baht change is ok for me now.

 

[poppysdad]

She says she has to suffer the loss, but what happens if there are any winning numbers in the unsold tickets, does she/can she collect the winnings?

[sammieuk1]

Lets put the lottery online for the controlling rich to make a nice profit never mind about the 1000s of poor reliant sellers they will find some weeds to eat ????

[ikke1959]

It is their own fault.. Lottery tickets have a price of 80THB, but the greed comes in, first 90 and now 100 or even 110 THB. Here in Big C they sell tickets 1 for 100 THB 2 for 200 THB and 5 for 600 THB (??????)..... But now they sell less and less only on days of the drawing the want to get rid of them and sell them for 80 THB.. It is a scam .. Don't complain when you sell overpriced. 

[madmitch]

Many people that get their tickets officially from the Government then sell them off en masse to "sub-agents", who pay the 80 baht. They then sell for a higher price to make their profit and I believe even some of them resell in bulk.

 

It's a difficult one. On the one hand the digital sales have probably demonstrated that Thailand should create a more modern lottery but  what happens to those making a living?

 

At the moment they're in between and that's possibly the worst situation for all concerned 

 

 

 

[jonclark]

3 hours ago, chuang said:

Just a few days ago I was quoted 110 bahts for a single lottery.. Cheapest you can find is 90/100 bahts..

So why not buy online for 80 bahts....Who to blame if the vendors insisted on selling high..

I know. It is a national discrace that people are trying to make 10 baht profit from a lottery ticket sale. Absolutely criminal. 

 

Personally I would rather see poor lottery vendors driven into dispair and poverty than support them.

 

(Note to TVF warriors... sarcasm alert) 

 

When the wife won a very small sum from our local village vendor she gave her 500 baht...The vendor now keeps my wife's lucky numbers aside which has since yielded a couple of other minor wins. 

[law ling]

Som, the vendor in the OP:

 

1. is being a bit cagey in not telling us what she pays for the tickets (that she sells for B100), and

 

2. is not being frank if she infers she gets stuck with paying for the unsold tickets.

 

I believe the street vendors buy from middlemen who add their slice of profit.

 

Also, the government is doing better now - they used to sell tickets to vendors (or middlemen) for something like B72 ... but now they're selling them (online) for B80.

[EVENKEEL]

So if a vendor sells for 80thb how much is her profit?

[Excel]

1 minute ago, EVENKEEL said:

So if a vendor sells for 80thb how much is her profit?

Previously 7.3 baht. Not a bad margin in much of the world but clearly insufficient here as selling say 500 tickets every 2 weeks will earn her 72,300 baht per month !! Now you know why there are so many lottery sellers. 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Why feel compassion with the lottery sellers that can no longer sell? This is just a result of their own actions. If they had kept to the price standing on the ticket, there would still not be any system for selling online. They have just dug their own grave, and are now searching for all other things to blame. Finally one part of the population gets to feel the result of their own actions.

Tell that to the local lottery sellers, the elderly and the disabled and the sellers who come to your house in rural Thailand.

 

Sure there are/were big sellers who boosted the price but the small people didn't and they are ones who are suffering.

 

 

[billd766]

33 minutes ago, Excel said:

Previously 7.3 baht. Not a bad margin in much of the world but clearly insufficient here as selling say 500 tickets every 2 weeks will earn her 72,300 baht per month !! Now you know why there are so many lottery sellers. 

If she sells 1,000 tickets a month and get 7.3 thb per ticket she only gets 7,300 thb per month. I think that your maths is out by a factor of 10.

 

She would need to sell 10,000 tickets to make that much and have no expenses.

[Excel]

3 minutes ago, billd766 said:

If she sells 1,000 tickets a month and get 7.3 thb per ticket she only gets 7,300 thb per month. I think that your maths is out by a factor of 10.

 

She would need to sell 10,000 tickets to make that much and have no expenses.

Youre right of course. Double that would give her an average income but doubt 1000/2 weeks lottery sales outside the main city areas would be doable.

[BangkokReady]

5 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Why feel compassion with the lottery sellers that can no longer sell? This is just a result of their own actions. If they had kept to the price standing on the ticket, there would still not be any system for selling online. They have just dug their own grave, and are now searching for all other things to blame. Finally one part of the population gets to feel the result of their own actions.

It's not really their fault.  Many Thais are used to mafia-backed monopolies and price-fixing, with no competition allowed.  It's a cultural thing and happens all over Thailand.

 

Why single out lotto vendors?   Because they aren't connected?

[2 is 1]

Still is almost same system even is in online sell! People who have quota get the tickets and sell forward. My Mrs. has 1 quota (friend has 4). 1 quota hold 1000 ticket. Mrs. buy 70 bth/each. From government bank account they automatically take off 70k bth before tickets coming on market. Then come vertification number on your phone that you can pick up tickets from post office. There is many different kind quota now, some dont even have paper tickets but can put tickets to sell in same internet system. I think those tickets get profit 6-10 bth/each. Mrs. sell all tickets range 80-90 bth/each normaly in 2 days! People still want really desperately those tickets even its more hard now to sell. Hole lottery system has been and is biggest government scam ever. People who know system get quotas whit poor family members name and haddle the hole thing(and take most money).

Edited August 13, 2022 by 2 is 1

[Gottfrid]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

Tell that to the local lottery sellers, the elderly and the disabled and the sellers who come to your house in rural Thailand.

 

Sure there are/were big sellers who boosted the price but the small people didn't and they are ones who are suffering.

 

 

Really! I went to the market. 80 on the ticket 100 was the price. I sit eating in a rural restaurant. 80 stands on the ticket, 100 was the price. I meet people walking on the street, on bicycle or sitting outside banks and 7-Eleven. Still 100-120 was the price. 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, Excel said:

Youre right of course. Double that would give her an average income but doubt 1000/2 weeks lottery sales outside the main city areas would be doable.

My wireless keyboard does odd things sometimes. It misses words and letters out and other times it adds bits and letters, usually when the battery is low.

[Excel]

Just now, billd766 said:

My wireless keyboard does odd things sometimes. It misses words and letters out and other times it adds bits and letters, usually when the battery is low.

I have a dyslexic one quite often but to compound that I even have a dyslexic spell checker ????

[billd766]

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

Really! I went to the market. 80 on the ticket 100 was the price. I sit eating in a rural restaurant. 80 stands on the ticket, 100 was the price. I meet people walking on the street, on bicycle or sitting outside banks and 7-Eleven. Still 100-120 was the price. 

In the rural areas where I live the price is still 80 baht. BUT if you want more tickets with the same number the  price goes up depending on the number of tickets you want.

 

You have the choice of buying multiple tickets at a higher price or driving to every other lottery seller in the area, and hope that they have tickets with the number that you want. The driving expenses will be to your cost.

[zzaa09]

Can we really trust [or become dependent upon] anything digitally/IT-born? 

Think about it.

[ikke1959]

6 hours ago, jonclark said:

I know. It is a national discrace that people are trying to make 10 baht profit from a lottery ticket sale. Absolutely criminal. 

 

Personally I would rather see poor lottery vendors driven into dispair and poverty than support them.

 

(Note to TVF warriors... sarcasm alert) 

 

When the wife won a very small sum from our local village vendor she gave her 500 baht...The vendor now keeps my wife's lucky numbers aside which has since yielded a couple of other minor wins. 

So10 THb overpriced no problem, 20 THb overpriced no problem... Look further.. You go to the petrol station and pay 40 THB instead of 35 THB, only 5THB more who cares????? It it printed on the ticket 80 THB... so pay what is printed..

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

In the rural areas where I live the price is still 80 baht. BUT if you want more tickets with the same number the  price goes up depending on the number of tickets you want.

 

You have the choice of buying multiple tickets at a higher price or driving to every other lottery seller in the area, and hope that they have tickets with the number that you want. The driving expenses will be to your cost.

So, you mean that they set their own rules anyway, then?

[The Hammer2021]

Its so sad to see the poorest of  the poor hit by modernity and not given  any help or support  by the government. Buying lottery  tickets is an easy way to  give  to the poor and cheering up a Thai friend  by giving  them the ticket

[mushroomdave]

Do what they have always done in Taiwan and that is only issue licenses to the disabled and they are the only ones who can operate little shops / kiosks / booths with regular machines.  They are allowed to employ others if they are big/busy enough but they have to put in so many hours to retain their licenses.  They are also checked on by authorities "a lot" so we know this would never work in Thailand if you know what I mean?  

[billd766]

2 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

So, you mean that they set their own rules anyway, then?

Why are you putting your words into my mouth?

 

If you don't understand what I actually said, then simply say so.

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

Why are you putting your words into my mouth?

 

If you don't understand what I actually said, then simply say so.

Wow! I am not saying anything more than you posted. Not putting any words in your mouth. Where do you get that from?

At first, this is not putting any words in your mouth. If you look at the question mark after, it´s just a simple question!

 

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

So, you mean that they set their own rules anyway, then?

Moreover, it was a quote of this, that is solely your post:

 

5 hours ago, billd766 said:

In the rural areas where I live the price is still 80 baht. BUT if you want more tickets with the same number the  price goes up depending on the number of tickets you want.

 

You have the choice of buying multiple tickets at a higher price or driving to every other lottery seller in the area, and hope that they have tickets with the number that you want. The driving expenses will be to your cost.

Here, you are clearly stating that they are selling sets of tickets for a higher price. Does that not clearly state they are setting their own rules anyway? Or, just maybe you see another price printed on those ticket. Do you?

See, I understood perfectly well what you posted. ????