Lottery tickets for July 17 draw snapped up in a record 28 hours
The 5.146 million digital lottery tickets issued for the July 17 draw were snapped up within 28 hours – a record since the new system was introduced on June 2.
Lawan Saengsanit, director-general of the Revenue Department who chairs the Government Lottery Office (GLO)’s board of directors, said 4,211,348 tickets were bought up by 5pm on Saturday and the remainder grabbed up by 10.30am on Sunday.
Lawan believes digital lottery tickets are being bought up quickly because they satisfy buyers’ needs.
“People can search for specific numbers and buy the tickets at 80 baht each,” Lawan said. “Most of all, they do not have to worry about fraud because the tickets are being sold via the government’s Paotang app.”
The Paotang app was used by the government to provide public subsidies.
The first lot of 5.17 million digital tickets for the June 16 draw had been bought up in five days, while the 5.15 million tickets for the July 1 draw were snapped up in three days.
Lawan said lottery tickets are selling so fast because the new system allows winners to redeem their prize money quickly and conveniently without fear of being cheated.
The GLO board chairman added that the app will be further developed to allow discounts on numbers that are not popular, as well as allow buyers to purchase tickets from disabled people, especially the blind.
Separately, GLO director Lt-Colonel Noon Sansanakhom said the agency will hold public hearings from July 20 to August 10 to hear the opinions of those affected by the GLO’s plan to change its lottery format.
The GLO had announced that it would gradually increase the quota of digital lottery tickets by 2 million per draw, starting with the lot issued for the August 1 draw, until there are 20 million digital lottery tickets on sale within this year.
The new quota will come from vendors caught reselling their tickets via other platforms or charging more than 80 baht per ticket.
The GLO is also looking into a new three-digit lottery system.
Noon said the law requires GLO to hold public hearings before it changes its lottery format, details of which are already displayed on the agency’s website.
He added that GLO will gather public opinion via its website and email from July 20 to August 10. Government agencies can also provide their opinions via written and mailed statements, he added.
The public hearings will kick off in Chiang Mai on July 20, in Chonburi on July 24, Khon Kaen on July 27, Loei on August 4, Nakhon Si Thammarat on August 6 and in Bangkok on August 9.