Lottery prices will be capped at 80 baht a pair in June, according to the prime minister, who pledged to use his absolute power under Section 44 of the interim charter to make it happen.
Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said there was no need to wait for amendments to the Government Lottery Office Act.
"The prices are higher [than the face value of 80 baht] because retail vendors have to sell unsold tickets to the five key players, who then combine those with the same last two or three digits to be resold at high prices," he said on Friday.
The twice-a-month Thai lottery offers the top prize of 30 million baht. Other high prizes range from 10,000 to 2 million baht for tickets with all matched six digits. Smaller prizes of 1,000 and 2,000 baht each are for those with the last two or three digits that match.
Tickets with the same last digits are therefore much sought after by punters who want to multiply their luck.
Punters usually ask fortune-tellers for these last digits or choose numbers related to important events in a given period. These tickets become much sought after and their prices may double.
Gen Prayut also said a new requirement is that each ticket will show to which quota it belongs. If the tickets are sold back to the five key players — widely known as the Five Tigers — they will be seized immediately.
"I want the price to be at this level and vendors can get the tickets at only two places — the Government Lottery Office (GLO) and the provinces. They may need to form groups and register themselves and no longer need to come to the capital to buy the tickets," he said.
Existing laws prevent the GLO from buying back unsold tickets, forcing cash-strapped small vendors to turn to the Five Tigers.
"Soon I will issue an order allowing the state to buy back unsold tickets from small vendors. They will no longer be allowed to resell them to the distributors but more information will be printed on tickets to determine from which quota they come from," he said.
As for the idea of selling the tickets at convenience stores, Gen Prayut said it would not happen yet.
"The outlets do not have quotas. They are just another sale channel so people have more choice. The tickets will also be sold through vending machines," he said.
Lottery tickets are sold through quotas — the handicapped, governors and distributors.