Kong Salak Plus CEO sets up political party to 'change' Thailand's lottery scene
The CEO of online lottery platform Kong Salak Plus unveiled his political party, “Plian” (Change), whose key campaign policy for the May 7 general elections will be eliminating overpriced lottery tickets.
Phanthawat Nakwisut said on Monday that he had registered the new political party with the Election Commission (EC) in August last year and is awaiting approval.
He said the party will start taking in members as soon as it gets the EC’s greenlight.
“The first thing our party will do is eliminate the sale of government lotteries at more than 80 baht,” he said. “This can only be achieved through the political procedure, with approval and support from the people. That’s why we are entering politics.”
The 43-year-old said he will become both party leader and party-list MP candidate once the party is officially launched.
He added that a platform will also be set up to collect public opinions that will be used to shape the party’s policies.
“This change is not for me. It is for the sellers of lottery tickets who have been suffering from low profits for years. Many have been selling lotteries for 10 years and can still not afford to feed their families,” Phanthawat said.
Earlier on Monday, the Kong Salak Plus headquarters at SSP Tower in Bangkok’s Watthana district was raided by police and relevant officials.
The raid was in response to a Government Lottery Office complaint filed with the Consumer Protection Police Division that the company was selling overpriced lottery tickets.
The platform was also accused of buying up tickets from small vendors to resell at inflated prices.
After the raid, Phanthawat told the press that he was not worried about the allegations because he has not done anything wrong.
