New system will stop overpricing, allow decent income for lottery vendors

Since the government has a policy to allow traders to gain a bigger profit, there is no excuse for selling overpriced tickets. Those who violate the law will be harshly punished,” Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, deputy government spokesman, said yesterday.
The new law, which will replace existing laws after they expire, will overhaul the lottery pricing and quota system next month, he said.
Under the current arrangement, those granted a quota of lottery tickets do not sell all of them to individual buyers but pass batches to wholesalers or retailers, who need to tack on their margin, causing prices to snowball.
“This is equal to price manipulation. The last retailers are forced to sell at inflated prices because they bought the tickets at already-high prices. This has led to huge funds circulating in the black-market economy, where money is spent illegally or inappropriately,” he said.
The government will ensure that lottery tickets are distributed to sellers in Bangkok and upcountry at the same low price – for instance Bt70 – so that they can make a bigger mark-up, he said.
The government will also reserve a budget to buy back leftover tickets. Under the current system, traders are stuck with the cost of some lottery tickets whose numbers are not popular and cannot be sold. Vendors have always justified selling overpriced tickets by claiming that they have residual tickets that are not bought up each draw.
The government also warned about protests instigated by retailers and associations of the disabled to pressure the government to scrap the new lottery-ticket system, Sansern said.
“The government is determined to solve the problem for small retailers who honestly make a living from selling tickets and ensure justice for the public so that they can buy tickets at a fair price,” he said.