Cabinet gives go-ahead to retirement lottery project
Every baht spent on the lottery will be invested for profit and buyers can withdraw funds and share of profit after they turn 60
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a project to have the National Savings Fund (NSF) sell lotteries that will help people save money for their retirement, Deputy Finance Minister Paophum Rojanasakul said.
Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Paophum said the retirement lottery would be sold via an app once the NSF Office has amended the NSF Act to allow it to sell lotteries. He said he will ensure the amendment is done as soon as possible.
He added that buyers can purchase lottery tickets via the app at the price of 50 baht per ticket, with a maximum purchase of 3,000 baht per month.
The lottery number cannot be chosen but will be randomly allocated, and only revealed after purchase. The lotteries can be bought any time of the day or night, while the prizes will be announced at 5pm every Friday.
There will be five first prizes, worth 1 million baht each, and 10,000 second prizes worth 10,000 baht each. If all prizes are not won in the draw then they will be added to the following draw, Paophum said.
Every baht spent on the lottery can be withdrawn after buyers turn 60. They will also get a share of the profits earned from the investment of their contributions, Paophum said.
“Buyers will not lose their money in this lottery. The more they spend, the greater their chances of winning prizes and the more they will have saved for their retirement,” Paophum said.
He added that the project will have little impact on the national budget as the government will only be spending 60 million baht per month or 700 million to 800 million per year on prizes, compared to 90 billion baht per month on paying allowances to the elderly.
