The Government Lottery Office sold 2.4 million digital tickets to about 600,000 buyers through the Paotang app on Thursday, the first day of online sales.
GLO chariman Lavaron Sangsnit said on Friday that as of 11pm on Thursday the GLO had sold 2,460,723 lottery tickets to 612,141 buyers. It had allocated 5,279,500 tickets for online sale for the next draw, in mid-June.
“The project received a warm welcome. The system is smooth. It received attention possibly because it was its first day. Importantly, buyers can buy a ticket at its official price of 80 baht,” Mr Lavaron said.
The GLO would think carefully about increasing the number of tickets for online sale, the chairman said. He did not want a negative impact on conventional sales of physical tickets.
He said the GLO would increase the number of outlets that sell physical tickets at the official 80-baht price to 1,000 next month.
GLO director Lt Col Noon Sansanakhom said the Paotang app would notify prize winners by 6pm on the day of the draw. They could claim their prizes right away via the app and pay a one-percent fee and 0.5% stamp duty.
Prizes would be transferred to winners’ Krungthai Bank accounts within 12 hours of their claim. The GLO would expand the prize transfer service to other banks, he said.
Prize winners could also claim prizes at the GLO in Nonthaburi province and would pay 0.5% stamp duty.
Online prize winners who fail to choose a prize-claiming channel within 15 days must claim prizes at the GLO within two years.
The online sale of government lottery tickets ensured that buyers could buy tickets at the 80-baht official price and also helped small vendors who sold the tickets through the app without having to peddle tickets, Lt Col Noon said.
He denied that the project encouraged people to gamble more, saying government lottery tickets were already generally available.
The GLO launched online sales of its lottery tickets at the official 80-baht price in a bid to keep down street prices of its tickets. Vendors have been selling tickets at 100 baht, 110 baht and more, especially for sets of tickets with the same numbers which are attractive to buyers dreaming of huge first prizes.
It comes in the wake of a government crackdown on online lottery vendors suspected of selling tickets at inflated prices. Buyers of digital tickets must be at least 20 years old.
