Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

 

Foreigners dreaming of winning the Thai lottery rejoice. You can legally purchase lottery tickets in Thailand, provided they're bought from licensed vendors. With draws held on the 1st and 16th of each month, except during certain holidays, your chance to strike it rich is never too far away.

 

Priced at 80 baht per ticket and sold in pairs, each ticket flaunts a unique six-digit number. A standard lottery set holds up to 1 million tickets, but beware: numbers deemed lucky often carry a price premium, despite government efforts to curb this. The prize structure is exciting, with significant rewards for top winners.

 

Prize Details Revealed

 

The Thai lottery features multiple prize categories, boasting a hefty total prize pool of 48 million baht across 14,168 winning tickets. Here’s the tantalising breakdown:

 

First Prize (1 winner): 6,000,000 baht
Second Prize (5 winners): 200,000 baht
Third Prize (10 winners): 80,000 baht
Fourth Prize (50 winners): 40,000 baht
Fifth Prize (100 winners): 20,000 baht

Consolation Prizes (2 winners): 100,000 baht for numbers close to the first prize.
Matching the first or last digits can win additional prizes.

First 3 digits (2,000 winners): 4,000 baht
Last 3 digits (2,000 winners): 4,000 baht
Last 2 digits (10,000 winners): 2,000 baht.

Claiming Your Fortune

 

If luck shines your way, claim your prize using a passport or government-issued ID and your winning ticket. Prizes need to be claimed within two years of the drawing date.

 

For major prizes, head to the Government Lottery Office in Bangkok, while smaller prizes can be collected from regional offices or authorised agents. Note that winnings are subject to a 0.5% withholding tax, and a stamp duty of 1 baht per 200 baht of prize money is also applicable.

 

Bringing Home the Bacon

 

Planning to take your winnings back home? Consider any customs declarations required due to the amount. Each country has unique tax regulations on foreign income, so consulting a local tax adviser is advisablem writes Bangkok Post.

 

Remember, while the Thai lottery offers thrilling opportunities, it’s crucial to play responsibly and understand any potential financial implications.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-07-02

 

 

To the best of my knowledge no farang has ever won one of the top lottery payouts...Not a single time....At least in the last 20 years, and very possibly in entire history of the Thai lottery.... 

I thought gambling was illegal in Thailand

Never indulged. What with dodgy ticket sellers, and then if you did have a winning ticket, would they actually pay out and would you be happy to have those around you knowing you’d won and then have your face plastered over the media? Thais are great, but they don’t seem to enjoy it much when a whitey is seen to be taking something away from them. May as well paint a large bullseye on your forehead. Lol

24 minutes ago, actonion said:

I thought gambling was illegal in Thailand

Not when it’s state-run and they’re getting their cut. 

Why is this news, always has been available to foreigners, all quite clear on the GLO website in English. 

30 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Thais are great, but they don’t seem to enjoy it much when a whitey is seen to be taking something away from them.

Except a naturally angry woman.

Worst value lottery in the world, plus you have to search for numbers you want

6 million is hardly a life changing amount

10 minutes ago, sungod said:

6 million is hardly a life changing amount

 

6 million is hardly a life changing amount

 

It is if you just happen to buy 7-8-9-10  tickets of the winning number which seems to amazingly happen a few times ever year and this impossibility has been going on for decades...

19 minutes ago, sungod said:

6 million is hardly a life changing amount

wont even buy a decent car.

2 hours ago, redwood1 said:

To the best of my knowledge no farang has ever won one of the top lottery payouts...Not a single time....At least in the last 20 years, and very possibly in entire history of the Thai lottery.... 

you are aware this is a news story about how farang lottery ticket purchases just became legal right? 

17 minutes ago, madone said:

you are aware this is a news story about how farang lottery ticket purchases just became legal right? 

 

foreigners have always been able to purchase lottery tickets.

 

3 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

foreigners have always been able to purchase lottery tickets.

 

Then WTF is the point of the story?

I figured it was just another of those illegal but ok things like prostitution

7 minutes ago, madone said:

Then WTF is the point of the story?

I figured it was just another of those illegal but ok things like prostitution

 

Just a fluffy piece to boost forum clicks I reckon.

2 hours ago, redwood1 said:

no farang has ever won one of the top lottery payouts...Not a single time..

 

If they had, theye'yd be back home.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

For major prizes, head to the Government Lottery Office in Bangkok, while smaller prizes can be collected from regional offices or authorised agents. Note that winnings are subject to a 0.5% withholding tax, and a stamp duty of 1 baht per 200 baht of prize money is also applicable.

 

No, they can't. Just a month ago, I won one of the minor prizes. Just the 2000 on the two numbers. Stopped by the agent. Wouldn't pay. Went to Krungthai bank, who is supposed to do small payouts, and they said the lottery was for Thais only and refused to pay out. I asked the bank to call the lottery office, which they did, and then they told me that I could get the 2000 but I would need to go to the main office to collect--a mere 90km roundtrip journey for me. 

22 minutes ago, watchcat said:

 

If they had, theye'yd be back home.

Really , 6M and you go back home ?

 

6M doesn't get you far "back home".

 

2 hours ago, proton said:

Worst value lottery in the world, plus you have to search for numbers you want

 

Completely agree, and it's ridiculous that you have to visit numerous sellers to get "your" numbers!

23 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

No, they can't. Just a month ago, I won one of the minor prizes. Just the 2000 on the two numbers. Stopped by the agent. Wouldn't pay. Went to Krungthai bank, who is supposed to do small payouts, and they said the lottery was for Thais only and refused to pay out. I asked the bank to call the lottery office, which they did, and then they told me that I could get the 2000 but I would need to go to the main office to collect--a mere 90km roundtrip journey for me. 

I've had a few minor wins of 2,000 BHT, one of 10,000 BHT and one of 20,000 BHT.

Never had an issue collecting from a Gold shop, but they charge a small commission of 1.5%.

Farangs have always been able to a ticket, must have been 20 years ago when I first bought one, Ive had a few win's, a neighbour of mine years ago he was addicted, 10,000 to 15,000 baht a month, he had some big wins, 

2 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

I've had a few minor wins of 2,000 BHT, one of 10,000 BHT and one of 20,000 BHT.

Never had an issue collecting from a Gold shop, but they charge a small commission of 1.5%.

 

I maybe buy one or two tickets sporadically. My wife's cousin came to visit me in the hospital once and then bought a ticket with my room number on it. Won 50,000 or so as I remember. 

3 hours ago, redwood1 said:

To the best of my knowledge no farang has ever won one of the top lottery payouts...Not a single time....At least in the last 20 years, and very possibly in entire history of the Thai lottery.... 

 

Wonder, what would happen if a foreigner, particularly a Westerner, ever won the jackpot... Would they really, without much bickering, pay out 6 million baht?

2 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

Wonder, what would happen if a foreigner, particularly a Westerner, ever won the jackpot... Would they really, without much bickering, pay out 6 million baht?

 

Several years ago, some guy did come on the forum saying he had won the main prize. He was asking where to go to get his money. This may have been a decade or more ago. But I remember it. He showed his ticket and it matched the winning number.

2 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

Several years ago, some guy did come on the forum saying he had won the main prize. He was asking where to go to get his money. This may have been a decade or more ago. But I remember it. He showed his ticket and it matched the winning number.

 

Wow, that's great!

4 hours ago, redwood1 said:

To the best of my knowledge no farang has ever won one of the top lottery payouts...Not a single time....At least in the last 20 years, and very possibly in entire history of the Thai lottery.... 

Hardly surprising considering the number that enter the lottery compared with Thai citizen entrants!  Non-Thais have won big, there was a Cambodian winner not so long ago

4 hours ago, actonion said:

I thought gambling was illegal in Thailand

It is, apart from a couple of exceptions, the lottery being one of them.

3 hours ago, daveAustin said:

would they actually pay out

Yes, they do, why would the GLO not pay out lottery prizes?.  I've had a pay out from a winning ticket.

3 hours ago, daveAustin said:

have your face plastered over the media?

Only if you want it to be.

4 hours ago, redwood1 said:

To the best of my knowledge no farang has ever won one of the top lottery payouts...Not a single time....At least in the last 20 years, and very possibly in entire history of the Thai lottery.... 

 

There was a girl who worked in Bar 4 in Soi 4, Bangkok, (now called Always Bar). 

 

She and her American fella from Chicago, from memory his name was Jason.

 

They won 6m each.