A plan for the government to launch the online sale of lottery tickets at the end of this year is to be proposed, if the authorities remain unable to prevent the overpricing of the tickets, according to Spokesman for the Government Lottery Office (GLO) Assoc. Prof. Thanawat Pholvichai.

Thanawat’s remark came after complaints of the rampant overpricing of lottery tickets across the country, with prices as high as 120 baht, instead of the set 80 baht, and raids on the offices of two major online lottery ticket dealers.

At the premises of Kong Salak Plus in Bangkok, and Mungkornfa in Nonthaburi, over five million lottery tickets, allegedly bought from vendors who had each been granted a quota of 500 tickets per draw by the GLO, were found. The tickets could not be confiscated because they had already been sold, but not yet delivered to the buyers.

Vice Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, Seksakol Atthawong, in his capacity as chair of a subcommittee to solve the overpricing of lottery tickets, said that the online dealers bought lottery tickets from small vendors at 90 baht per each and resold them at 95 baht, which is above the set price of 80 baht.

A Kong Salak Plus executive has claimed that the company is not the real cause of overpricing of lottery tickets, because it just buys the tickets from vendors and to resells them at a 5 baht profit.

Instead, he accused those who collect large numbers of lottery tickets from vendors for each draw and then put the tickets in sets of two or more to resell to vendors for larger profit margin.

Meanwhile, Mungkornfa is facing two charges, for selling the tickets at above the set prices and for obscuring its lottery ticket procurement.

The GLO issues 100 million lottery tickets per draw. 70% are distributed to small vendors. These small vendors are given a 9% discount, which means the cost of each ticket to them is 70.40 baht, against the selling price of 80 baht.

The remaining 30% of the tickets are distributed among organisations, foundations and associations for disabled people at prices ranging from 68.80 baht to 70.40 baht per ticket, enabling them to make a profit of 9 baht per ticket, if they are sold at the set price of 80 baht.