Most Thais want to get rich quick, urge govt to control lottery prices

The survey, conducted by Suan Dusit University from March 29 to 31, covered 1,081 respondents from across the country. The results were announced on Sunday by chief researcher Pornprom Buathong and Asst Prof Nisarat Issaramanorot, deputy dean of the university’s Faculty of Education.

When asked if they love buying lotteries, 61.78 per cent said “Yes”, 6.96 per cent said “No”, while the rest did not care either way.

As many as 66.08 per cent said they do not believe the government will be able to stop lottery prices from rising beyond the 80-baht face value, 12.88 per cent believe the government can control the price, while 21.04 said they were not certain.

The survey also learned that 52.05 per cent of the respondents bought the government lottery, 31.44 per cent bought the underground lottery, 11.61 per cent bought the lottery online, while 2.9 per cent bought other lotteries.

When asked how often they bought lotteries, 28.49 per cent said they bought tickets every two weeks for biweekly draws, 25.46 per cent bought lotteries occasionally, while 23.87 per cent said they bought lotteries for nearly every draw.

As for why they bought lotteries, 54.60 per cent said they wanted to get rich quick, 48.65 per cent love the thrill of betting, while 32.59 per cent said they bought tickets because they had dreamt of lucky numbers. Respondents were allowed more than one choice for this question.

As for the problems they encounter when buying lottery tickets, 87.38 per cent cited high prices, 49.91 per cent complained they could not choose the numbers they wanted, while 37.38 per cent said they were forced to buy entire sets of the same number. The respondents were given more than one choice for this question.

The survey also found that 64.07 per cent agreed with the idea of the Government Lottery Office selling tickets via the Pao Tang app, 18.94 per cent disagree, while 16.99 per cent said they were not sure. The government launched the Pao Tang app to provide subsidies to help people cope with the rising cost of living.

When asked how the government can control the price of lotteries, 64 per cent said it should get rid of middlemen, 60.09 per cent want severe punishment for ticket sellers who unfairly push up the price, while 54.51 per cent want the authorities to look in on lottery stalls to prevent overpricing.

Nisarat said the survey proves that most Thais want to get rich quick, especially since the Thai economy is suffering a slump from the Covid-19 crisis fallout.