Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha issued Prime Minister's Office Order No. 8/2565, dated 12 January 2022, appointing a committee to address the problems of people affected by the offering or sale of government lottery tickets above the price set for them1. The order splits the work into three subcommittees1.
The order responds to a persistent gap between the official price and street prices. The official price is 80 baht per ticket, but the announcement states that tickets are almost never seen at that price, with the lowest price at 90 baht and attractive or full-set numbers at 110 baht per ticket or more1.
The online platform is being developed with Krungthai Bank through Paotang, which the announcement says has more than 40 million users; dealers and buyers who reserve in advance can consign tickets for sale at no cost while also selling some themselves1. System testing was to run in April and May 2022, with sales starting from 2 June 2022 for the 16 June draw, and a separate app is being developed for people with disabilities and vulnerable groups1.
A second subcommittee, chaired by Prime Minister's Office Minister Chankrit Dejvitak, is studying allocation and distribution measures. It will examine whether the current 69% to 31% split of quotas is appropriate, and will verify the advance buyers and reservers already registered, described in the announcement as more than 9 hundred thousand people, aiming to reduce that to 60,000 (of an original 2 hundred thousand quota, about 1.3 hundred thousand confirmed their rights, leaving about 60,000)1. Screening will involve five state agencies: the Department of Provincial Administration, the Comptroller General's Department, the Social Security Office, the National Savings Fund and the Fiscal Policy Office1. The announcement says more than 800 charitable foundations holding quota (the 31% share) will be checked for whether they genuinely exist, with quota withdrawal considered for violations or non-existence1. It also states the 1974 lottery law will be studied to broaden penalties, including civil and criminal penalties1.
A third subcommittee on awareness and public relations is chaired by Lt. Gen. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, director-general of the Government Public Relations Department1.
"การขายสลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาลเกินราคา 80 บาท"
What it means for players
The stated official price of a Thai government lottery ticket is 80 baht, and the announcement itself acknowledges that tickets are rarely available at that price, with the cheapest found at 90 baht and popular numbers at 110 baht or more1. The measures described are aimed at the supply side: quotas, dealer screening and an online sales channel. Nothing in the announcement changes the price a buyer pays at a counter, and no penalty for overcharging buyers is set out in it. The announcement says the public will be given a channel to report tickets sold above price, and that a reward for informants may be introduced1. Details of how that reporting channel works, and whether any reward is paid, have not been reported.
What happens next
The second subcommittee's review of the 69% to 31% quota split and of the registered advance buyers falls in a medium-term window of three to six months from the announcement1. The three subcommittees are to report on their work to the prime minister and the cabinet1.
For how the official price compares with what buyers pay, see How Much Does a Thai Government Lottery Ticket Cost?. For how state lotteries in the region are structured, see Lotteries in Asia. For gambling rules in the country more broadly, see Can I Gamble in Thailand?.
Sources1 sources
- แนวทางแก้ไขปัญหาสลากเกินราคา, sakonnakhon.prd.go.th
