A group of disabled lottery ticket vendors is calling on the junta to directly allocate them a quota of tickets to help them remain in business.
It comes after the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) announced a cap on the retail price of lottery tickets at 80 baht, effective from today, as part of its efforts to clamp down on rampant overpricing.
According to the vendors, it is impossible to sell lottery tickets at 80 baht each because they are forced to buy the tickets from middlemen at 94 baht apiece.
"The lottery tickets are not in the hands of the small-time vendors," said Santisuk Polswing, the group's secretary. "Those who have access to the quota are influential agents who sell them to the middlemen."
Mr Santisuk said the Government Lottery Office (GLO) announced in December that disabled vendors should register for an allotment of tickets directly from the office.
The vendors applied for a quota with the GLO on Jan 2-6, and about 98,000 of them qualified.
The qualified vendors were promised the first quota of tickets for the March 16 draw at 74 baht each, but they failed to receive any tickets.
Mr Santisuk said the group wants the junta to intervene and allocate the quota to the qualified vendors for the July 16 draw as a short-term measure to alleviate hardship.
As a long-term measure, he said authorities should revamp the lottery quota system to prevent unfair distribution.
Mr Santisuk's group also showed documents to prove they are qualified vendors. The petition was accepted by the NCPO's representative.
Udon Wong-onsanit, president of the lottery vendor group, said the vendors are happy to sell the tickets at the capped price of 80 baht if they are given the quota.
Former GLO chief Chaiwat Phasokpakdi, who also used to serve on a Senate committee studying the lottery quota system, said the GLO needs to "liberalise" the market by allowing vendors to register their demands with the office.
He said the supply and demand mechanism will help solve the overpricing problem. Currently, there are three major wholesale vendors and some 4,500 foundations and associations that are allocated the quota, he said.