Thai National Lottery
The National Lottery in England is now an establishment - generating pound upon pound for needy causes and the odd 15 million for one or two lucky individuals.
Although gambling is illegal in Thailand, the Thai government does allow a Thai National Lottery to take place. And take place it does.
“offered twice a month”
The main national lottery in Thailand is offered twice a month, and the start and then once again in the middle. Lottery tickets are sold by often elderly or disadvantaged individuals who roam the streets and hang about street corners with large wooden trays lined with numbered lottery tickets.
These sellers receive a small baht commission on every ticket they sell. It is interesting to watch at popular places during rush hour which sellers
manage to gain the most customers - often the ones wearing the most good luck charms!
Many Thais do not play the national lottery. Many, however, do. Some take it so seriously that the lottery has even been involved in murder cases and other such events.
One can almost predict the date of the month by how busy the ticket sellers are during a walk home in the evening. Enthusiastic customers concentrate hard on finding the number they have decided will be lucky for them this week.
Often this is decided not by them but by someone such as a monk, or an elderly grandparent or any other number of fantastic sounding sources of 'good luck'.
The last time I checked the price of a national lottery ticket was about 35 baht. The payout, on average, is around 4 million baht. That's less than 100 000 dollars. It won't let you buy any small countries but it will certainly keep you out of trouble (or in a lot of trouble..) for a few years.
By international standards you are probably better off playing the national lottery of any other country both in terms of odds and payout. My good Thai friend plays the British National Lotto for his chance to win 20 million pounds (far too many Thai baht to ever have to count!).
Updates this week
This week Sticky-Rice.com returns from something of an extended hiatus - oops! Plenty of stories to tell however thanks to having to rush head first into the Asia region unexpectedly.
Be sure to check out our article on the Women of Laos followed by a look at the major Festivals of Laos.
A huge amount in the works to look forward to including a fresh set of Cambodian photos to add to our expanding Photo Gallery.
Have a great week.