The only legal forms of gambling in Thailand are lottery and betting on horse races and muay thai boxing contests, but only in events held in state run venues.However, these sectors have to compete with illegal gambling operators and online gambling websites that offer better prizes,
A Closer Look at Thailand’s National Lottery
The Thai government’s lottery business is recognized as one of the oldest lotteries in the whole world. Here, draws are held bi-monthly and not daily, specifically on the 1st and 16th day of the month. Any other lotteries not organized and run by the government’s Lottery Bureau are considered illegal.
The bureau’s Government Lottery Official or GLO makes sure the Thai government gets to receive 28% of the revenues from lottery ticket sales. The GLO allots up to 12% as administrative expenses, which include Ticket printing, distributing and selling costs.
That being the case, only 60% of lottery ticket sales are available as prizes, divided and awarded in different winning categories. Presumably, this is one of the reasons why many Thailanders place their money in other independently run, underground lottery operations as many believe they have greater chances of winning in small lotteries.
The Lottery Bureau organizes the draws, whilst selling 38 million tickets through authorized or accredited lottery vendors dispersed throughout the streets and markets across Thailand’s villages, towns and cities. The Lottery Bureau pre-prints the tickets, which are sold in packs of two; one ticket entry for each of the scheduled bi-monthly draws. Ticket vendors buy the tickets at a cost of 80 baht per pack, and sell them at a mark up price of 120 baht.A pair of tickets can cost more if a lottery player wishes to buy those with specific Buddhist-recommended numbers.
About Thailand’s Underground Lotteries
Thai’s National Lottery competes with underground lotteries or huaytaidin, operating across the country. According to researchers at the College of Social Innovation of Rangsit University (RSU), Thai’s underground lotteries is about four to five times larger that the national lottery, which bases the winning numbers on the outcome of the official lottery draws.
However, underground lottery operators offer larger amounts of prizes, along with other number-betting options also based on draw outcomes. In some cases, underground lottery operators accommodate lottery ticket purchased on credit.
Underground lotteries are actually prevalent and flourishing, as any one can start a lottery business by simply listing down bets in a notebook. Small local unofficial lotteries in villages do not have to establish an official place of business, which makes it difficult for local police authorities to crack down on lottery operations.
Actually, many believe underground lotteries are protected by local police units, since every year, as much as 11 billion baht (USD362 million) are being paid as bribe or protection money.
Thai’s National Lottery Also Faces Stiff Competition from Online Gambling Sites
According to studies about gambling behaviors in Thailand, the National Lottery’s prize schemes are unequitable if compared to the rewards that can be gained from betting on online casino slots and other table games. In fact in online casino platforms that offer เกมสล็อต pg (PG Slot Games), customers can play using free credits earned as Bonus Money, but subject to the usual terms and conditions governing bonus plays.
Nonetheless, Thailand’s PG Soft Games offer a theoretical Rate of Return to Player (RTP) of 96.22%. Moreover, the chances of winning are increased through PG Soft’s RTAS system, which recommends games to online slot players based on what they find enjoyable and rewarding.