Underground lottery in Thailand
Lottery is a big part of Thai culture. In fact, we even have established “lucky” sites and habits to predict winning numbers as well as long standing rituals.
Considering how integrated the lottery is in Thai culture, you can imagine how big of a deal it is when people win – and subsequently, the consequences when they don’t receive their winnings.
Here’s a story about an unauthorised lottery dealer who had to appease 30 locals who came to demand their jackpot at his home.
Lotto stories in Thailand:
- Boy’s deceased friend conveys winning lotto numbers
- Creepy dream helps woman win ฿12 million lottery prize
Locals bypass lottery system and buy tickets in bulk
Unlike the government’s official lottery system where there are limited quantities of number combinations, alternative lotto networks are able to produce more of each combo.
During an ordination ceremony, locals in a small village learnt about a community member’s new car with the license plate number “0272” and about his dream where said car was flying.
Due to the reappearance of “0272” in the community, members deduced the numeric combination must hold significance, and rushed over to buy tickets ending with “272” in bulk from an unauthorised seller, reported One 31.
Every Thai lottery ticket is marked with six digits. The size of the prize is determined by the number of digits your lottery ticket matches with the winning number. So, even if the ticket only holds the same final 2-5 digits as the winning number, holders still receive prizes.
Image credit: Tanyaluk Sakoot via The Phuket News
Coincidentally, “272” was among this month’s winning lottery numbers. The car owner, who bought a majority of the tickets, was said to have won over ฿1 million (~USD32,000).
Lotto retailer pays half of winnings
The winnings owed totaled up to ฿74 million (~USD2.4 million).
30 of the “winners” headed over to the unauthorised lottery seller’s home and waited outside until the seller relented to pay half the winnings. However, the seller agreed to pay only half the amount to the lottery winners.
Image credit: One 31
While news about the dealer’s “unfair” settlement travelled throughout Phrae, neither party has decided to pursue legal action due to the fact that it is considered unauthorised and unlawful gambling. So, the winners had to settle for half of their winnings.
It takes a village to win the lottery
In Thailand, it’s common for colleagues to discuss their dreams and try to decipher the winning lottery numbers. In the case of these residents, it took one person’s car purchase and dream, and another person’s ordination ceremony for almost the entire village to win the jackpot.
Cover image adapted from: Tanyaluk Sakoot via The Phuket News (Right), One 31 (Left)
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