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In Thailand, a new clash is forming over how far politics should go in using lottery schemes to win public support. A coalition of anti-gambling advocates is now pushing back against campaign ideas that rely on “all kinds of lottery” incentives, saying these policies risk deepening gambling problems instead of solving real issues.
A group representing a five-region network of anti-gambling organizations, Stop Gambling Foundation, issued a statement on February 3, indicating their opposition to lottery-based pledges appearing in political party platforms. The authors expressed concern that these types of rewards are not harmless, but rather serve as mechanisms to entice additional individuals into potentially problematic behaviours, especially when presented as a means of gaining access to government programs.
Concerns Over Policy and Law
The network pointed out that some parties have been promoting lottery-based schemes as a way to boost household savings or to convince small and medium-sized businesses to register in official systems. To the group, this looks less like responsible policy and more like using gambling to attract citizens’ attention.
The authors indicated that regardless of whether a lottery is government-sponsored or operated by an illegal entity, it would still be classified as a form of gambling according to the Gambling Act of Thailand from 1935. The group stated that the total amount of money spent by individuals within Thailand on the purchase of lottery-related goods or services exceeds 250 billion baht each year, which is comparable to the sum total spent on several multimillion-baht major infrastructure projects.
Heavy Use and Vulnerable Players
Beyond money, the group is worried about how many people are drawn in by lottery games. In 2023, around 27 and a half million people bought official government lottery tickets, while 22 million turned to underground options. Those who are most at risk, including minors, young adults, and older citizens, are seen as bearing much of the impact.
The statement cited more than 500,000 children under 18 who bought lottery products that year, along with close to 4 million people aged 19 to 25 who did the same. The network also linked the growth of legal lotteries to a rise in underground and “satellite” formats, noting that the number of government tickets printed has increased by about 300 percent since 2013, with illegal versions expanding at a similar speed. They added that more than one in five lottery buyers now say they see themselves as addicted.
Politics, Promise, and the “Nine Millionaires” Plan
This debate is unfolding while lottery policies take center stage in the 2025 to 2026 election cycle. One major party, Pheu Thai, has put forward a “nine millionaires a day” plan that would see 9 people receive 1 million baht daily through a lottery system. The party has explained that this idea is meant to help improve official data collection and tax compliance, not just hand out money, but it has still drawn questions over its social and moral impact.
For the anti-gambling network, such proposals only strengthen a culture where luck-based gains are presented as a path to progress. They argue that adding more lottery products will push more people toward underground and related schemes, feeding the belief that gambling is an acceptable way to change one’s life.
A Call for Different Incentives
The discussion comes against the backdrop of Thailand’s official lottery system, which has been one of the few legal gambling channels in the country since 1939 and is managed by the Government Lottery Office. Ticket sales and their distribution are tightly set, with around 60 percent of revenue going to prizes and about 28 percent directed to state funds.
The group continues to attempt to persuade policymakers that politics should not utilize lotteries as an inexpensive means of implementing public policy. They would like to see political parties begin developing ways of providing assistance to individuals so that they can become self-sufficient without having any reliance upon gambling. From their perspective, true leadership involves reducing the impact that gambling has upon the fabric of our society rather than embedding it further into political campaigns and civil government.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief (AGB)
