The newly-appointed military chairman of the Government Lottery Office's board has threatened to take extreme measures if the retail price of lottery tickets for the June 16 draw still exceeds 80 baht per pair.
But he declined to use special military powers to deal with the "five tiger" groups which have reportedly dominated the sale of lottery tickets in the market.
Maj Gen Aphiratch Kongsompong, the First Army Region deputy chief, said he hopes he will not have to adopt drastic measures.
"I'm hoping to receive cooperation from all parties involved. It's better if I don't have to use my [military] power to deal with the problem. I know who is who, but I don't want to be harsh if we can still talk things out," he told the Bangkok Post.
Tackling overpriced lottery tickets is one of the National Council for Peace and Order's (NCPO) priorities following the May 22 coup last year. A year has passed without changes to the prices.
Aphiratch: Wants to avoid harsh measures
Mr Somchai, who stepped aside to make way for others to handle the issue, claimed he had introduced several measures in the past several months but they all failed. He was appointed on June 28 last year on the NCPO's orders.
The Prayut government is pinning its hopes on a planned overhaul of the lottery distribution system which is expected to begin when lottery ticket quotas held by brokers expire in the middle of this year.
It is believed that large amounts of lottery tickets are held by the "five tiger" private groups identified as Salak Mahalarp, Diamond Lotto, Yardnampeth, Pluemwatthana and BB Merchant.
These operators, who have been granted lottery ticket quotas by the GLO for a long time, reportedly buy lottery tickets from other distributors including government agencies and charity organisations which also receive a ticket quota allotment and resell them to smaller distributors who ultimately sell them to street vendors.
Those smaller distributors and organisations do not want to take the risk of failing to sell their lottery tickets so they agree to sell them to the five groups instead. Such actions inflate the ticket prices at each selling stage.
It remains to be seen what the GLO board will do when the lottery quota expires.
"I'm always urged to use the [special] power to deal with the so-called five tigers but why should I make conflicts and enemies? The NCPO wants reconciliation so I will talk to them and not use any special powers yet," he said, referring to the use of special Section 44 military powers under the interim charter.
He said the price of lottery tickets sold by the GLO is 70.40 baht per pair, and he expects people in the distribution chain to manage and keep the standard retail price at 80 baht.
Lottery tickets are currently sold between 90-120 baht per pair.
He said it is time for these operators to reduce the profits they have reaped over the years.
"And the people should not let themselves be exploited. They shouldn't pay more than 80 baht. Don't condone corruption. Overpricing is close to corruption. And I'll take care of the rest," he said.
Maj Gen Aphiratch said he plans to travel to the provinces to meet key lottery agents and persuade them to cooperate.
NCPO chief and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said earlier the sale of lottery tickets would be suspended if the problem of overpriced tickets continues unabated.
Maj Gen Aphiratch said solving the problem of overpriced tickets is divided into three stages. During the first stage, from June to December this year when the lottery quota expires, quota will not be renewed and will be reallocated.
The second stage, from January next year until a general election, may see the launch of new channels for selling lottery tickets to regulate the price.
For the third stage, the launch of an online lottery may be considered. Lottery tickets may be offered via ATM machines or convenience stores.
Maj Gen Aphiratch said the government wants some 50,000 people who are retailers not to treat lottery vending as a primary source of income. Lottery vending can only be their second job, he said.