Lotto Fever

[bluezephyr]

When i LOS i saw hoards of Thai people queing for lotto tickets,i bought one just for luck,wasnt too lucky mind you.

Whats the deal?

For most Thai's earning say around 2-300 baht a day,probably less in places it seems quite expensive per ticket,considering the chances of winning, our £1 ticket is such a drop in the ocean for even minimum wages earners.

Are there smaller wins or does winner take all? rollover if no wins?

I bought one from a street vendor with a briefcase,nice chap.

Does he have to hand the unsold tickets in to the lottery head office by the draw date? i just had visions of all the street sellers sitting there checking all the unsold tickets checking for a winner.

Has anyone ever met or know a lotto winner in thailand,in the uk even hard up people are still rich in many ways,but a struggling thai farmer going from zero to millions of Baht has gotta be a life changer far beyond what a lotto win in the uk can do.

[Farma]

It seems like a hit and miss affair even if you win. A few months back the seller took the winning ticket off a winner with the excuse of having it validated and I think the winner ended up having to share the prize.

The Nation ran this newer story on the 3rd of Feb.

Long wait for lottery ‘winner’

Published on Feb 3, 2006

A jackpot winner will have to hold his breath until next week while the Government Lottery Office (GLO) decides on whether to award him his Bt19-million prize.

Norasing Decha, 25, bought the ticket in good faith but could not pick up his prize because the dealer who sold it to him had failed to file his records with the GLO.

“I was speechless when I was told I couldn’t claim the prize just because the agent hadn’t reported the sale. I’m the buyer, it’s not my job to ask the agent whether he has reported the sale yet,” the frustrated punter said yesterday.

If the GLO refused to pay him, nobody will play the government lotteries again, he said.

Norasing sought help from the issuer, but the GLO said it would need time to investigate the case.

“We should be able to conclude what happened by next week,” GLO assistant director Pairoj Panjaprateep said after the agency convened an urgent meeting to consider the ticket holder’s plea.

GLO director Surasit Sangkhapong was absent because he was on an official trip to Mexico. Pairoj said he had to consult his boss before any decision could be made.

Norasing called on authorities for help since he had legitimately bought the ticket. He also lodged a complaint with police and threatened to take legal action if he did not get his money.

Pairoj said lottery agent Pichai Suwanprapaporn claimed that he could not complete all the records in time for Wednesday’s draw. Pichai bought more than 100,000 tickets every fortnight, then resold them to his agents.

“We have suspended Pichai’s right to sell lottery books and we are going to investigate further,” Pairoj said.

Senator Seree Suwanpanont urged the GLO to sympathise with Norasing, saying it was a lifelong dream to hit a jackpot.

“Every lottery buyer hopes of winning. So now that he has, he should be paid,” said Seri, a member of the Senate committee on justice and human rights.

Norasing had the right to sue if the GLO refused to pay, he said.

[meom]

Are there smaller wins or does winner take all? rollover if no wins?

Many people play in the (onofficial) three number lottery where you pick a 3 digit number.

The winning number is the last 3 digits of the official lottery and it pays 400-500 times the money you have bet, be it 10 baht or a couple of thousand baht. You can also pick 2 digits; believe that pays 50x.

There's big money in the 3 digit lottery and it's played worldwide; wherever you find thais you will find somebody that will take your bet.

[Heng]

Most lottery dealers I know, both legal and underground (although here's a not so big a secret: most are one and the same) agree that he'll get his winnings. The risk of revenue loss is too great, as just about everyone is already saying "well, may as well play the underground version... at least then I know the vendor personally."

[johnh101]

I won 2000 Baht in each of the last 2 lottos.

[xbusman]

I try to remain pretty jai yen about everything in Thailand but this last lottery scam really lit my fire.

It takes about three seconds to figure out how this poor fellow was screwed by a poorly designed and corrupt system. Its obvious they are putting lottery tickets in circulation without being paid for and that there are layers of cronies skimming the program.

Now granted, unless we live in lala land, we should be aware that is standard operating practice in every corner of the kingdom. But!!! This guy had a ticket, fair and square, purchased from the lottery commission at full face value, and it won. The corruption, incompetence and downright theft inside the lottery department is neither his fault or concern. To try and screw him out of his winnings shows not a lack of morals or common sense, it shows an overwhelming case of greed and stupidity that is dangerous to the fabric of society.

I really hope they pay this poor fellow and do it with a smile.

[Neeranam]

For most Thai's earning say around 2-300 baht a day,probably less in places it seems quite expensive per ticket,considering the chances of winning, our £1 ticket is such a drop in the ocean for even minimum wages earners.

It's a rip-off.

Most Thais i know who buy the lottery are lucky if they earn 2-300 baht a day.

Yesterday I met a fairly senior policeman who won a lot on the lottery - go figure.

[demon]

thay want to play euro millions this weeks rollover 125million pounds =91,250,000.00baht so would that be nearly 1 billion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[steveromagnino]

Many of the major dealers in the underground lottery are senior police, army, politicians, that sort of thing.

There was one major attempt to rig the numbers I know of a few years back, but mostly it is perfectly legal in the drawing of the numbers. The amount of money the backers of the underground lottery need is to ride the inevitable swings and roundabouts of a game of statistics.

However, the house take is so high (far higher than roulette, blackjack, baccarat) that they can afford to operate knowing that they will make money in the long run. For really big bets, they need to know they can cover them, so will often have an underwriter higher up who can back the bigger bets. This way, if they get things right, there is a few hundred baht on each combination, and many combinations, thus they can know that no matter what numbers come up, that they have them covered and still can make a profit. Given the range in bets (from a few baht, to thousands of baht) each level of middle man taking the bet can cover their level.

My uncle has won several times on the underground lottery, and I think the biggest win in the last few years was 500,000 baht. However, he also spends probably 5000b a month on it, so in perspective it is not that much.

People play the underground for the following reasons:

- local agent

- they can choose their own numbers and amount

- they don't have to pay and can run a credit account

- higher payout

The govt is restricted in legalising the lottery with more options and getting rid of the underground:

- many senior politicans and police are underwriters for the underground lottery or Muay Thai betting or football betting

- major structural changes in the lottery may annoy the Thais (voters) who are opposed to gambling

- there may be some politicans who would rather wealthier Thais spent their money in Poi phet or the possibly (although unlikely IMHO) to be built casino somewhere in Thailand

- the blind people are agents for the legal lottery, and they will picket if their income is eliminated through introducing an electronic lotto style system

That said, they did introduce a way you can pick your own numbers, but it doesn't get around the issues of credit and amount; I saw a proposal for this that I think CP pushed (hmmm.... CP having an influence on govt policy....no never!) to allow 7 11 to sell these tickets and other similar agent businesses. As it stands now, popular wisdom is that the underground is around 8-9 times larger than the legitimate lottery.

Most of the people playing the lottery are the lower socio economic groups; students often are betting on football while the thai Chinese I know (family included) seem to prefer trips to casinos in places like Poi Phet.

[warriors]

The question asked was, what happens to the unsold tickets of both lotteries? any on know the real answer? do the agents have to pay for them them selves??????? the ones they could not sell. Ireally mean the offical lottery one.

[warriors]

Any one know the answer what happens to the tickets that are not sold does the seller have to buy them>????????

[barryofthailand]

Unsold lottery tickets are absorbed as a loss by the seller. they cannot be returned for credit.

Barry

[warriors]

Thanks Barry so I take it if the win its a plus?

I ment if the seller wins its a plus with the left over tickets

[Phil Conners]

thay want to play euro millions this weeks rollover 125million pounds =91,250,000.00baht so would that be nearly 1 billion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't. Only UK residents can participate.

[Heng]

The guy who got "ripped" will get his winnings, announced today. Let the sales continue!