Critics on Thursday slammed the Government Lottery Office (GLO) board's decision to launch a new game to compete with the underground lottery, saying it was a poorly thought-out scheme and would lure people deeper into gambling.
Sira Janejakha, a Palang Pracharath Party MP for Bangkok, described the GLO board's reasons behind the "12 Thai Zodiac" or "Pictures 12" picture-based draw game as unjustified. He said there were other ways of dealing with the problems of overpriced tickets and the underground lottery.
"What we will get in return from the new game is more gambling through new channels. The gambling situation is bad enough. And if the GLO board tries to solve the problem by promoting gambling, I think replacing the board is an appropriate action," he said.
The GLO board opted for the zodiac animal game among other variations in its Wednesday meeting and claimed the new game would lure people away from the underground lottery industry valued at 500 billion baht annually and solve the problem of overpriced lottery tickets.
The zodiac game will be separate from the current number-based lottery. The players win if four zodiac animals on their tickets match the animals drawn in the same or different orders. While 60% of lottery ticket sales revenue will go towards prize payout, 28% will go to state coffers, and 12% will be used to pay for operating expenses.
Mr Sira said a crackdown on underground lottery punters is a more direct approach to tackling illegal lottery since the GLO is directly responsible for controlling the price of lottery tickets.
The government MP also called on the cabinet which has a final say on the issue to consider the pros and cons of the new game.
Meanwhile firebrand activist Srisuwan Janya yesterday joined the growing chorus of opposition against the scheme and accused the government of running out of ideas to raise funds.
"By introducing the new lottery games, the government is showing the people that it is going broke and running out of ideas to raise money."
"A good government will stimulate the economy by doing business with foreign countries or promoting tourism, not taking money out of people's pockets," he said.