The April 1 lottery draw has been postponed for a second time, from May 2 to May 16, as part of social distancing to help contain the spread of Covid-19, says the Government Lottery Office (GLO).
GLO board chairman Patchara Anantasilp said proceeding with the draw might have encouraged people to gather to buy or sell lottery tickets.
The draw for April 1 will take place at the GLO headquarters in Nonthaburi on May 16 from 2.30pm to 4pm, he said.
Mr Patchara said the GLO board has also cancelled other draws -- April 16, May 2 and May 6 -- costing the government 5.4 billion baht in revenue from lottery ticket sales.
Each draw generates about 1.8 billion baht on average, according to Mr Patchara.
He said the GLO is studying the possibility of selling lottery tickets online and its impacts on existing vendors.
"A study is needed, especially concerning the legal aspects and impacts on the public, buyers and existing vendors," he said.
Last month, the Disabled Lottery Traders Federation of Thailand urged the GLO to return the deposits to ticket vendors, as they have yet to receive the tickets.
The federation said the Covid-19 situation looks unlikely to improve any time soon and so if the GLO returns the deposits, the vendors can use the money to invest in other businesses.
Handicapped vendors have set up Line accounts to help them sell tickets so they can earn money to get them through the crisis. After payments are received, tickets will be mailed to buyers.