Child rights activists are unhappy with the government's move to print 10 million additional lottery tickets and introduce new forms of lottery saying it would lead the youth astray.
Over 32 organisations who advocate for the protection of child rights jointly spoke out on Thursday to oppose the government's move.
On June 24, the Government Lottery Office's (GLO) board agreed to increase the number of lottery tickets in circulation from 90 million to 100 million, starting from Aug 1. The move was made in order to stamp out overpricing of lottery tickets.
The government also set up a panel to study new formats of lottery tickets, ranging from two and/or three digit number draws, four and/or five digit number draws to picture-matching draws.
The groups said the government should pay close attention to the adverse outcomes a lottery can have on society.
Panithan Sisroy, deputy chairman of the Children and Youth Council of Thailand said with these moves, the government is overlooking the seven million youths in Thailand which need to be protected from gambling.
"The government should set aside some money to organise activities to boost anti-gambling 'immunity' for children," said Mr Panithan.
Patcharapan Prajuablap, secretary-general of the Thailand Youth Institute, said more forms of lottery tickets would make children more accustomed to gambling.
"The way to tackle overpriced lottery tickets is to remove the middleman," said Mr Patcharapan said.
"Why has the GLO not thought this through?"