GLO blamed for being the root cause of lottery overpricing

[Lite Beer]

GLO blamed for being the root cause of lottery overpricing

BANGKOK: -- The Government Lottery Office and its monopolistic system of lottery distribution were blamed as the root cause of overpriced lottery tickets at a seminar on the subject of “GLO causes overpriced lottery:

How Can the National Council for Peace and Order Cope with the Problem?” on Saturday.
Speaking at the seminar, Mrs Nuannoi Trirat of the economics faculty of Chulalongkorn University, said that the NCPO’s announcement that lottery tickets must be sold at 80 baht each by the vendors was not a solution at the source of the problem.

She suggested that the quota system of lottery distribution had to be completely overhauled to ensure that 70 percent of the tickets for each bi-monthly draw must be distributed to the small vendors instead of the big distributors who have been given 50 percent of the tickets with the remaining 30 percent distributed to all provinces through the provincial governors and 20 percent for the small vendors.

On top of that, she said that lottery tickets which were distributed through the governors could only be sold within each respective provinces.

An expert on gambling and illegal gambling in Thailand, Mrs Nuannoi also suggested that the distributors who are given a specific quota of lottery each draw and who do not sell the tickets to the consumers themselves should have their quota forfeited and redistributed.

In normal practice which has been going on for decades, the big distributors who have 50 percent share of the quota simply distribute the tickets to the sub-distributors and make profits from that and the sub-distributors will the tickets to other sub-distributors and mark up the prices until the tickets arrive at the hands of the small vendors who have to sell the tickets to vendors at more than 100 baht apiece.

The final selling prices of lottery tickets to the consumers range from 15-50 percent above the 80 baht fixed price depending on the numbers of the tickets.

Former senator Monthien Boonton blamed the GLO for being the chief culprit for lottery overpricing. He said that GLO wanted to make 100 percent from selling the tickets to the distributors without taking any risk at all.

To tackle the overpriced lottery problem, he suggested that the GLO board be dissolved and the quota system be revamped.

A small lottery vendor, Mrs Rungtip Wilailert, said she could not sell the lottery at 80 baht a ticket as ordered by the NCPO because she had paid 91-100 baht each for the tickets she received from her sub-distributor.

-- The Nation 2014-06-22

[clockman]

Thainess, at its best.!

[HeijoshinCool]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

[robblok]

It shows best how it works some fat cats make all the profit while the small sellers who do the work get almost nothing.

[robblok]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Maybe, can't say its stupid or not.. kinda depends on the other prices and the number of tickets sold.

The ration between how much that goes into the lottery and how much that goes out. Just with these numbers its hard to say.

If I pay 20$ to win 1000$ and my chance is 50% its a good deal (impossible of course but its an example)

And if I pay 1 $ to win 1.000.000.000 but my chance is 0,00000000000000001% its a bad deal.

[JesseFrank]

It shows best how it works some fat cats make all the profit while the small sellers who do the work get almost nothing.

The small sellers get nothing ?

I thought they charged a premium on the tickets.

[robblok]

It shows best how it works some fat cats make all the profit while the small sellers who do the work get almost nothing.

The small sellers get nothing ?

I thought they charged a premium on the tickets.

Yes.. but how high is that premium after all the middlemen took their cut. That is the big question, how i read it is that 50% is allocated to big sellers + 30% to governors who would also resell (i guess) who in turn divide it up again. One can only imagine how many links are in between that all take their cut without doing the work.

The solution would be to only sell to the small sellers. It would be more work of course but hen the prices could be set at 80bt.

Edited June 22, 2014 by robblok

[clockman]

Land of scams!

[madmitch]

Time to change to a 21st century style lottery rather than a glorified raffle.

[falang07]

indeed, the lower the chance to win, the more stupid it is to buy a ticket which means the Powerball might be an ideal candidate for calling it stupid, HeijoshinCool

Edited June 22, 2014 by falang07

[NeverSure]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Maybe, can't say its stupid or not.. kinda depends on the other prices and the number of tickets sold.

The ration between how much that goes into the lottery and how much that goes out. Just with these numbers its hard to say.

If I pay 20$ to win 1000$ and my chance is 50% its a good deal (impossible of course but its an example)

And if I pay 1 $ to win 1.000.000.000 but my chance is 0,00000000000000001% its a bad deal.

Very, very true. However, when someone wins it - wow.

I don't play it, but I keep telling myself I should buy a ticket every time it rolls over. One ticket. One lousy buck. Almost no chance, but what's a lousy buck? Put the ticket away and forget it until they announce the numbers. Old joke you've probably heard:

"I know I haven't been perfect but I really need to win the lottery. I don't have a lot of ... If you just let me win the lottery, I'll be a better person. I don't have to ... The clouds opened up and a booming voice said, ''John, you have to buy a lottery ticket."

[terryp]

i thought gambling was illegal?

[ChrisY1]

The GLO system and administrators, needs a thorough clean up......to an outsider that doesn't buy these tickets.....from the information above, it really sounds like a legalised scam...where the GLO makes their profit at the outset......

How many tickets are distributed for each lottery?

50% to the big distributors......who are they?....

30% to the provinces...through the provincial governor!.....this sounds really sweet for him or her.....!!

20% to the street vendors.......

[trainman34014]

Like a lot of other things they are only interested in creaming off as much as possible at the top end. What happens after that they are not interested in and don't care if the punter on the street is paying twice what they should be. 'Fairness' for all is but a dream in Land of Scams.

[hyperdimension]

i thought gambling was illegal?

Not if the government runs it.

I don't feel strongly about the gambling industry, but at least some forms of it are legal and regulated in Thailand (if the government runs it) and other countries so that people are given the freedom to gamble if they wish to do so. It's not ideal that legal gambling is very monopolistic, but it's still better than if it was completely illegal. I wish it was the same for other "vice" industries like recreational drugs, i.e. if the government produced some relatively safe recreational drugs themselves (e.g. via the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, which already produces their own version of sildenafil (or "Viagra") called "Sidegra" (which some may consider as "recreational") then it would be better than enforcing a zero-tolerance approach. Let people do what they want as long as they are aware of and will accept responsibility for whatever harms, if there are, their decisions would do to themselves or others.

[Thaddeus]

What I would like to know is this.

Those machines on stage are full of balls, do the balls have numbers printed on the outside, or do they have to be opened to reveal a number inside?

What is to stop, say, all the balls in each machine having predetermined known numbers in them?

[moe666]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Powerball is now 2.00 dollars I know just bought one last week

[N47HAN]

No ones mentioned yet that if you win and take it to the local place to claim they charge you a commision on your win too !

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[MMarlow]

What I would like to know is this.

Those machines on stage are full of balls, do the balls have numbers printed on the outside, or do they have to be opened to reveal a number inside?

What is to stop, say, all the balls in each machine having predetermined known numbers in them?

The balls do have predetermined numbers, they are all numbered 0-9 in each machine.

[rkidlad]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Maybe, can't say its stupid or not.. kinda depends on the other prices and the number of tickets sold.

The ration between how much that goes into the lottery and how much that goes out. Just with these numbers its hard to say.

If I pay 20$ to win 1000$ and my chance is 50% its a good deal (impossible of course but its an example)

And if I pay 1 $ to win 1.000.000.000 but my chance is 0,00000000000000001% its a bad deal.

No, it is stupid.

[HeijoshinCool]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Maybe, can't say its stupid or not.. kinda depends on the other prices and the number of tickets sold.

The ration between how much that goes into the lottery and how much that goes out. Just with these numbers its hard to say.

If I pay 20$ to win 1000$ and my chance is 50% its a good deal (impossible of course but its an example)

And if I pay 1 $ to win 1.000.000.000 but my chance is 0,00000000000000001% its a bad deal.

Very, very true. However, when someone wins it - wow.

I don't play it, but I keep telling myself I should buy a ticket every time it rolls over. One ticket. One lousy buck. Almost no chance, but what's a lousy buck? Put the ticket away and forget it until they announce the numbers. Old joke you've probably heard:

"I know I haven't been perfect but I really need to win the lottery. I don't have a lot of ... If you just let me win the lottery, I'll be a better person. I don't have to ... The clouds opened up and a booming voice said, ''John, you have to buy a lottery ticket."

.

Yep. And a buck to an American, compared to $15 to a Thai, who's stupid?

And, despite what some posters contend, winning a Powerball is much more likely, because the overall odds of winning a prize are 1:31.85, though that's based on $2 tickets.

[robblok]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Maybe, can't say its stupid or not.. kinda depends on the other prices and the number of tickets sold.

The ration between how much that goes into the lottery and how much that goes out. Just with these numbers its hard to say.

If I pay 20$ to win 1000$ and my chance is 50% its a good deal (impossible of course but its an example)

And if I pay 1 $ to win 1.000.000.000 but my chance is 0,00000000000000001% its a bad deal.

Very, very true. However, when someone wins it - wow.

I don't play it, but I keep telling myself I should buy a ticket every time it rolls over. One ticket. One lousy buck. Almost no chance, but what's a lousy buck? Put the ticket away and forget it until they announce the numbers. Old joke you've probably heard:

"I know I haven't been perfect but I really need to win the lottery. I don't have a lot of ... If you just let me win the lottery, I'll be a better person. I don't have to ... The clouds opened up and a booming voice said, ''John, you have to buy a lottery ticket."

.

Yep. And a buck to an American, compared to $15 to a Thai, who's stupid?

And, despite what some posters contend, winning a Powerball is much more likely, because the overall odds of winning a prize are 1:31.85, though that's based on $2 tickets.

You need to lear to read. You said it was stupid, I said I dont know as I dont have the figures.

You compare the price of tickets I compare how much is paid out in prices and how high a chance, not the price of the ticket.

Without knowing the real data from both lotteries you can't judge.

That was my point, please provide the data on wich you based it was stupid.

I did not pass judgement because oli could not based on the information available.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Thaddeus]

What I would like to know is this.

Those machines on stage are full of balls, do the balls have numbers printed on the outside, or do they have to be opened to reveal a number inside?

What is to stop, say, all the balls in each machine having predetermined known numbers in them?

The balls do have predetermined numbers, they are all numbered 0-9 in each machine.

You know that for certain?

There is nothing to stop all the balls in the first machine having the same number inside, and the second the same etc

It would be very easy to rig it so that the result is known well before the draw.

[NeverSure]

Pay a buck in the States for a Powerball ticket, and you can win 600 million dollars.

In my town, people pay 500 baht ($15) for a chance to win 3 million ($100,000).

Stupid.

Powerball is now 2.00 dollars I know just bought one last week

Well, that just proves I don't play it, LOL. I don't blame you if you don't get addicted and lose the farm. A couple of bucks is nothing to a Westerner, and someone is going to win that jackpot. I'd get 2 bucks worth of fun just comparing my numbers to the winning numbers, but I never bother to buy.

[Loles]

Just go and check out the Thai Lottery Bla-Bla-Bla buildings and you will understand well everything ...

[Valentine]

What I would like to know is this.

Those machines on stage are full of balls, do the balls have numbers printed on the outside, or do they have to be opened to reveal a number inside?

What is to stop, say, all the balls in each machine having predetermined known numbers in them?

The balls do have predetermined numbers, they are all numbered 0-9 in each machine.

You know that for certain?

There is nothing to stop all the balls in the first machine having the same number inside, and the second the same etc

It would be very easy to rig it so that the result is known well before the draw.

Try watching the draw on live TV & you will see the numbers are different.

[thumper101]

It shows best how it works some fat cats make all the profit while the small sellers who do the work get almost nothing.

The small sellers get nothing ?

I thought they charged a premium on the tickets.

Yes.. but how high is that premium after all the middlemen took their cut. That is the big question, how i read it is that 50% is allocated to big sellers + 30% to governors who would also resell (i guess) who in turn divide it up again. One can only imagine how many links are in between that all take their cut without doing the work.

The solution would be to only sell to the small sellers. It would be more work of course but hen the prices could be set at 80bt.

Just need to cut out the governors and distribute to a central district office... so GLO only needs to get the tickets to about 800 districts across Thailand.

The vendors then have to go to the district office to pick up their tickets, but will get them at a much cheaper price. The district office should be an existing government office and that office should NOT be making any profit.... governments are NOT profit making entities.

[mca]

What I would like to know is this.

Those machines on stage are full of balls,

Bloody hell! Robot katoeys! Whatever next?

[american12bthai]

What I would like to know is this.

Those machines on stage are full of balls, do the balls have numbers printed on the outside, or do they have to be opened to reveal a number inside?

What is to stop, say, all the balls in each machine having predetermined known numbers in them?

thailand is the only place that uses humans to grab balls. the world got rid of the people because there is a chance...someone will cheat. ... but if they use a machine, then the chances of cheating is gone. honestly the thai lottery is rigged from the very start. its a scam. from the begining to end.

[somo]

I think all national lotteries are basically just a tax on the poor to feed the rich. A sort of reverse Robin Hood set up.
In the UK it pays out a bit over 50% of what the poor buy. The poor buy about 80% of the tickets which is why it is sold as a possible escape from poverty and misery.
Quite sick really. The profits do not go back to the poor but support things like the opera house which the poor haven't even heard of. This enables central government to renage on it's commitment to the arts.
Here it is even more revolting with everyone up the line profiting from the gullibility of the uneducated. The "dai din" lottery is quite a bit fairer (pays out about double) but is still just another opportunity for the richer ones to extract from the less fortunate.

Humans are a particularly nasty species.