The lottery in Thailand is a hugely popular gambling habit. It is one of the two only forms of gambling legal in Thailand. And despite the low odds of winning and the unfavorable payout ratio, people often buy Thai Rath lottery (หวยไทยรัฐ, Which is the term in Thai) tickets. The survey says, in 2014 around one-third Thais participated in the government lottery and spent around 76 billion baht.
Like many other countries, the government of Thailand also conducts and regulates the lottery. The Government Lottery Office has been given the authority to conduct the lottery on the 1st and 16th of every month. The payout ratio of government lottery in Thailand is very low i.e. only 60% and the government itself prints and sells the tickets to wholesalers.
History of Lottery
King Rama V first was the person who started the lottery system in Thailand country. It was started on the occasion of his birthday in 1874 after permitting their bodyguards. Lotteries were then held occasionally until 1933 when the government took charge of it and legalize it.
After the military government took charge in 2014 they made the lottery one of their primary source of income and from next year, they fixed the price of each lottery.
How To Play
Thai Rath Lottery tickets are sold to the wholesalers who then sell it to local retailers.
There are two types of Thai lottery:
- Thai Government Lottery
- Thai Charity Lottery.
TGL has the highest prize of 3 million baht. After the draw, the winner can claim the reward within 2 years. Ten guests attend the drawing in GLO headquarters on the 1st and 16th of each month and the drawings are televised from 15:00 to 16:00 on the day of the draw.
First, the draws were broadcasted on National Broadcasting Services and Spring News. But after 2016 it was simulcast on Thai Rath TV and published in the Thai Rath newspaper.
Thai Rath Tv
Thai Rath TV is a digital media under the newspaper named, Thai Rath. The lottery drawings were broadcasted on Thai Rath TV from 14:00 and the winning numbers of the draw were displayed at the end of the broadcast.
After Sam Rath was published in Thailand, the Thai Rath Lottery was the second oldest newspaper in Thailand and they published their first issue in 1949. Thai Rath TV is owned by Triple V broadcast which is a subsidiary of Thai Rath News.