Reader Submission: The illegal Thai lottery
Anyone who is a little familiar with Thailand knows that in addition to the bi-weekly lottery of the Government Lottery Office (GLO), there is also an illegal lottery. This is based on the results of the GLO draw and is more accessible to participate.
According to rumors, the actual organizers should be sought high on the Thai monkey rock, which, in addition to running the country, also has a lucrative other department. Even though it is illegal, it rarely happens that the writers and other intermediaries are held accountable for their activities by the authorized government authorities.
In some areas of the country it is openly known who the main organizer is and they also show this with the bi-weekly sacrifice of a pig on a spit. The writers pass the numbers through Line and with a little effort one could get the illegality out but it's live and let live unless something has to be settled.
If there is a need in society to be allowed to color outside the lines and government services do not consider it a priority to tackle, then I think we can talk about a policy of tolerance regarding the unofficial lottery.
Hereby also a list of numbers (see below) that have special attention in the draw on August 16 from an organizer known to me. With the illegal lottery there are restrictions to buy these numbers and then the regular lottery seller can offer a solution and so the two systems help each other and there is actually little reason to change the system, because the legal ticket sellers who already don't have it wide you also have to keep working.
Hope brings life and especially in this dramatic third wave period where there is nevertheless hardly less playing and wish the players good luck in the next draw.
Submitted by JBG
Lotto is a different story. When we arrived in our daughter-in-law's village on a Saturday afternoon, everyone was inside. Watching the lotto draw on the internet. Her 87-year-old father, who sells lottery tickets himself, has a rack on the handlebars of the moped and so he drives to his customers and also sells on the market. Father has to keep his unsold raffle tickets himself and he was also sitting at the laptop with 20 raffle tickets. Afterwards everyone came out and exactly 1 person had a small prize. See, it's possible. New tickets were immediately bought. Preferably with different people because then you have a better chance. There is a lot of hope of winning a prize, superstition also contributes to this. There are many lottery sellers in markets and on the street. You don't understand how they make money. We were surprised about that.
The article is about illegal lotteries. They are rampant in Thailand. Lydia is talking about the government-approved lottery. The illegal lottery was introduced here by Thai women, among others. To participate you must be known within a certain group of Thai. Those groups are connected through the men but mostly women. Someone in one group knows another in the next group, and in this way those groups form a complete network. Organizers have a number of “intermediaries” who are known and as such are “recognised” as those to whom the bets can be made. A large part of the effort first disappears into the pockets of the “organization”. Of that part that remains, prices are announced with much fuss and fanfare. This way everyone has the idea that there is something to earn as long as they participate often. There is a second illegal way to make money off each other. The women know from each other through the same fanfare that someone is going on vacation to Thailand and collecting collections to support a local temple. A contribution is then openly and frankly asked for a contribution. The more the merrier and those contributions will be announced. Everyone also knows that part of it disappears into the pockets of the "collectante", but the thought of having done a good deed and thus a bonus in the next life makes everyone happy.
The illegal lottery in Thailand is Thailand's largest business and the government knows that.
There is more turnover than in the legal lottery. This was an article in one of the newspapers a long time ago. And everyone (THAI) participates in it and will never be stopped, also it is forbidden by law.
For the ordinary Thai, the illegal lottery is an affordable lottery, 20 baht for 2 last numbers and if you pay 30 baht, they can still be reversed, with the correct number you draw 1800 baht and the other way around 1200 baht, nice for that bet.
Depending on the organizer, several forms are possible, even a bet of 5 baht or only 1 number or “wing”.
What is funny is that participating is often more important than winning because as soon as a prize has fallen, it is also (partly) used as a treat. In life before Covid, the 1st and 16th months were always a great excuse to have a party with a group of friends and the bill was a bit lower if someone won. Moralists will reject it all, but the majority of the population is not so concerned about that.
You pay the illegal lottery 12 baht per number.
You can bet on the number before the last number and finally the last number.
The prizes are 1000 baht for the last and first number.
If you win with the last 3 numbers, you win 5000 baht.
No money is paid to an organization, but the seller of the lottery tickets pays a certain amount to a high-ranking police officer.
This can amount to 20.000 baht or more depending on the location and turnover of the illegal lottery seller.