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The GLO lottery follows in the footsteps of some interesting predecessors.
In the 19th century, Chinese migrants introduced the Thai people to a form of lottery. During the reign of King Rama V, Henry Albaster, an interpreter employed by the British consular, is widely credited with playing a part in introducing Thai people to European-style lotteries.
King Rama V instructed the His Majesty the King’s Guard Regiment to design the nation’s first official lottery on the occasion of the King’s birthday anniversary. This particular lottery was aimed at assisting foreign merchants operating at the Concordia Tower (Sahathai Samakom Pavilion) at the Grand Palace.
In 1917, during the reign of King Rama VI (1910-1925), Britain sought a loan from Thailand to support its involvement in World War I. The government wasn’t allowed to lend funds from its budget, but the King allowed the British government to borrow funds from the Thai public through a lottery.
Later, to raise money for the Suea Pa, a branch of the military serving the King, a Suea Pa Lan Baht (Suea Pa million-baht) lottery was launched.
A major shift
Thailand made the transition from absolute monarchy a more democratic form of constitutional monarchy in 1932. Once this took place, the government continued to use the same lottery format to fund many of its projects. By 1939, a committee overseeing the government lottery had been established, and it was this that went on to become what we now know as the GLO.
The results of the GLO lottery are announced on the 1st and the 16th of the month.
‘Salak Omsin’: Government Savings Bank (GSB)’s lottery
The monthly announcement for the Salak Omsin (Slogan: “A Smart Way of Saving”) lottery is released on the 16th of the month. GSB has now been providing Salak Omsin services for 60 years. The number of chances you get depends on how much you invest. So the more you invest, the greater number of chances you get to win. Once the investment has matured, you should at least get your original investment back plus interest.
 
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Om Sap Thawisin Saving Card Deposits
The results of the GLO-organized Om Sap (savings)Thawisin (asset growth) lottery is announced on the 10th of the month.
Organized by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), Om Sap Thawisin offers another form of investment in which depositors can earn both interest and the opportunity to win prizes valued at 20-million baht (US$629,443) from the lottery. Saving cards can be bought every three months, but the deposits are four-year investments. The last round began on January 10, 2007 and is set to mature on December 10, 2010.
The ‘underground’ lottery
The underground lottery is obviously illegal, but it has been operating successfully now for more than 10 years. Leading academic Sungsidh Piriyarangsan suggested in 2002 that up to 23.7 million Thais take part in some form of underground lottery.
The underground lottery “comes in many shapes and forms”. The most famous being the one featuring two- and three-digits. When the government tried to legalize or “decriminalize” it, its popularity quickly began to wane, and it has now been scrapped. The underground lottery continues, however, and remains very popular.
Kumklao lottery
The hugely-popular Kumklao “instant” lottery became an instant hit following its launch during the leadership of then prime minister Gen Prem Tinsulanonda.
A medical department within the Royal Thai Army sought funds in 1980 to build a new hospital in the city’s Don Muang district. It was felt that a regular lottery wouldn’t gain enough attention among the public, so an instant lottery ticket was produced. Buyers simply removed the thin film on the ticket to determine whether or not they had won a prize.
Tickets sold for 20 baht each (a portion of rice at that time cost about three to five baht). If it wasn’t a winning ticket, removal of the film would reveal a message, such as ‘Thanks for donating’ or ‘Never mind, better luck next time’.
Even if you weren’t lucky enough to purchase a winning ticket, you could still mail your used ticket to the medical department to enter a draw for the chance to win up to 10 million baht’s worth of gold.
The success of this lottery led many to many commercial forms, but up until now, the Kumklao lottery is the only charity-related lottery to offer ‘instant win’ tickets. – Translated into English from Mars magazine (author: Pennapa Uttamang) and republished with the kind permission of Manager Online.
Photos: Suwit Kittithien and Duangsuda Kittiwattananon |
Art & Culture 
Art & Culture
Thailand is home to a rich cultural heritage with distinct spiritual and art lineages. Gain insight into the ways of Thai culture passed down through the centuries in addition to its more modern variations through original Art & Culture articles.
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