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THAILAND
LOTTERY NEWS - 1999
999 Comes up Twice in Four
Draws
THAILAND (December 1, 1999) There is a one-in-a-million chance
for it to happen, according to a probability expert. But that
the number 999 came up twice from the four draws for three-digit
winning numbers was not the strangest thing that made Thailand's
lottery history yesterday. The lucky three digits of 999 popped
up twice to the delight of lottery punters, who had hysterically
searched for the numbers because they were inspired by the country's
most auspicious occasion which comes up this weekend, the 72nd
birthday of His Majesty the King, 9th monarch of the Chakri
Dynasty. Some punters called their winnings a miracle coinciding
with the great Royal occasion. And while statistical pundits
reasoned that the extremely low probability of a triple number
to repeat itself in just four draws was not impossible, just
about everybody was amazed by the fact it happened to the most
sought-after number of the moment. Sue Lo-uthai, deputy secretary-general
of the National Statistical Office, pointed out that there was
only one in a thousand chance for the string of 999 to be drawn
as the winning three digits. ''Then it was like the lottery
drawers had to turn the wheel of numbers one million times in
order to have these three digits come up twice,'' he said. I
say this can happen. But it is extremely, extremely rare.' Government
Lottery Office director Chaiwat Pasokpakdi revealed that it
was the first time in the history of lottery draws that a string
of the three digits of same number were picked twice for winning
prizes.
In the past 20 years there were occasions when a string of three
digits came up twice but they were not of the same number, he
said. Chaiwat urged punters against overly speculating on the
incident, pointing out that earlier this year a same six-digit
number came up twice for a fifth lottery prize, also doubling
the winning stake. He said that for yesterday's draw of 999,
his office would pay Bt4,000, instead of the usual Bt2,000,
for each ticket. The repetitions of winning numbers are rare
but they have happened and ''the history of numbers might repeat
itself'', he concluded. In each lottery draw, six lottery officials
and six government officials each spin one of the 12 wheels,
each of which is designated with a number running from 1-12.
To choose each winning number, the wheels are randomly selected
by drawing on a pool of 12 balls, each designating the wheel
number. About 1,000 punters packed the prize-drawing room when
their miracle happened. They shouted with excitement when the
three wheels stopped turning at the number 9, 9, and 9. And
after a brief silence, they were jubilant after the magic number
came up again. Som Boonthong waved his 999 winning ticket for
all to see. ''I have always had a hunch that 9 must be a lucky
number. The number is associated with the Reign and many people
must have shared my thoughts because the tickets having number
9 were quickly sold out.'' A lottery vendor said that the 999
tickets were one of the most popular same-number three digits.
With the approaching celebrations of His Majesty's birthday,
punters especially would look for them, he added.
A group of underground lottery banks were curiously happy with
the double win for 999, even though they had to pay higher stakes
for each bet. The winning probability was so low that not many
punters place a large bet on it, they said, so the prizes were
not as large as some other popular numbers. According to one
bank, for a Bt1 bet for the 999, the punter would receive a
Bt90 return. Since the winning number repeated, the prize would
increase to Bt180. The bank would have suffered great losses,
but luckily not many punters put big money on the number.
One punter observed that many of yesterday's winning numbers
contained the number 9. The first prize, which pays Bt3 million,
was 669281. The two-digit prize was 79. The four three-digit
prizes were 952, 896, 999, and 999.
Even the ''81'' at the end of the first prize is seen as significant,
because they make 9. Underground lottery punters bet on the
last two digits of the prize as well.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
Govt. to Scrap Online Lottery Ticket
Vending System; Venture Firm can Sue for Compensation
THAILAND (September 11, 1999) -- The Bangkok Post reported on
Saturday that the online lottery deal between Jaco Co and the
Government Lottery Office (GLO), to develop a nationwide online
lottery ticket vending system, will be scrapped immediately.
The permanent secretary for finance, Supachai Pisitvanich, said
yesterday that the ministry would inform Jago Co, operator of
the project, of the cancellation next week. The Government Lottery
Office would also overhaul its distribution system, which includes
five million tickets for the handicapped and others channelled
through four or five firms. The lottery office will redesign
charity tickets so they show clearly they are to be sold by
the handicapped, Mr Supachai said. The online lottery scheme
has come under fire from blind and other handicapped lottery
vendors who fear for the loss of their livelihood. The lottery
office had sought to compromise with the parties involved. Jago
had agreed to reduce its allocation to two million per issue,
with the number of charity tickets unchanged. Mr Supachai said
Jago could sue the state for breaching the contract signed in
the last days of the Banharn government three years ago. Officials
say Jago has demanded 1.3 billion baht in compensation should
the government fail to honour the contract. The cabinet decided
early this week to ask the Council of State to decide if the
contract came under the public/private joint venture law, which
requires a state enterprise project worth more than one billion
baht to have cabinet approval.
Meechai Ruchupan, the senate speaker, denied the government
was buying time by making the referral. If it failed to consult
the Council of State and something went wrong, the government
would be blamed, he said. A Chart Thai minister, meanwhile,
distanced himself from the contract, saying he had given it
nothing more than agreement in principle. Prapat Pothasuthon,
who was deputy finance minister supervising the office when
the deal was approved, said Bodi Chunnanonda, then finance minister,
gave the go-ahead. I didn't sign it but the then finance minister
did. He agreed the project would keep ticket prices under control,
said the deputy interior minister, who has been keeping a low
profile. Mr Prapat, who missed Tuesday's cabinet meeting at
which the contract was on the agenda, said he had asked the
lottery office to establish if the project would solve the problem
of overpriced tickets and if it would encourage gambling.
The project was brought before me and I agreed it was a good
one in principle, although I didn't know the details, he said.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
Govt. Calls for Adjudication of
Vending Machine Contract; Doubt Raised About Joint Venture Law
THAILAND (September 8, 1999) -- The Bankok Post reported
yesterday that the Thai cabinet has asked the Finance Ministry
to consider if the contract, to dispense lottery tickets via
online automatic vending machines, between the Government Lottery
Office (GLO) and Jago Co. violates public-private venture law.
The newspaper said that Pichet Phanvichartkul, the deputy finance
minister in charge of the GLO, claimed the online lottery contract
was not screened in line with the 1992 law, and could be terminated.
But if no laws were breached, Jago would be fairly compensated
if the GLO still decided to withdraw.
When the contract was awarded, the GLO said screening was not
needed since Jago would be a distributor and not a joint venture.
The Council of State will be asked to rule on this point. Jaco
is a joint venture between Loxley and US-based GTech, a major
manufacturer and worldwide supplier of on-line automated lottery
vending machines and computers. Earlier, Mr Pichet told the
cabinet the new system would not affect blind lottery vendors
as they would still receive their quota of five million charity
lottery tickets per draw. His claim that the US embassy had
sent the Finance Ministry a letter expressing concern about
the handling of the case was dismissed by Finance Minister Tarrin
Nimmanhaeminda, who had raised the issue with the US ambassador.
He said Washington only wanted the issue resolved with due legal
process. Several hundred blind and handicapped people who sell
lottery tickets rallied at Government House yesterday. Prayad
Phunong-ong, president of the Blind People's Association, threatened
to cut his arm and write a letter to the premier with his blood.
Trichakr Tansuphasiri, the president of Jago, expressed optimism
the government would not scrap the project.
He said he did not understand why the firm, which was only an
agent appointed by the GLO to dispense lotteries via vending
machines, was being subjected to relentless attack.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
Government Seeks Compromise on
Ticket Vending Machine Contract
THAILAND (September 7, 1999) -- Just before his departure from
office three years ago Praphat Pothasuthon of the Chart Thai
Party approved a contract, between Jaco Co and the Government
Lottery Office, to develop a nationwide online lottery ticket
vending system. The contract has since become a political hot
potato. The contractor, Jaco Co, is a joint venture between
Loxley and US-based GTech, a major manufacturer and worldwide
supplier of on-line automated lottery vending machines and computers.
The Chavalit government which succeeded the previous administration
decided to delay the project pending a detailed study. The matter
was then shelved until Jaco urged the current government to
honour the contract. A compromise was worked out after Jaco
threatened to sue the government for 1.3 billion baht.
The matter now is in the hands of Deputy Finance Minister Pichet
Phanvichartkul, who supports a compromise that would allow Jaco
to go ahead with the project. But ticket vendors say they would
be deprived of their living and Mr Pichet's fellow Democrats
are concerned about the political fallout. Now Mr Pichet wants
to scrap the contract altogether. This can be done, he says,
through a resolution by the cabinet or parliament but all charity
lotteries must be cancelled. But Jaco Co may still take the
matter to court to protect its interests. And, bear in mind
that Jaco is no pussy cat that will just roll over and submit.
It is partly owned by G-Tech. Mr Pichet or the cabinet may have
to come up with an alternative which is both acceptable to Jaco
and will not invite a public uproar. It appears the best strategy
is to request more time to gauge public opinion on the new lottery
dispensing system.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
Ticket Vending Machines Could Solve
Problem of Overpriced Lottery Tickets
THAILAND (September 7, 1999) -- While the debate rages over
a contract to dispense lottery tickets through a network of
on-line ticket vending machines (TVMs), an article in the Bangkok
Post claims the critics have all missed the real issue, and
that the TVMs will provide some definite benefits. The real
issue, the newspaper claims, is the overpricing of lottery tickets
that has been going on for decades. The newspaper said that
unlike people, machines are not corrupt of themselves. If they
are not tampered with, the vending machines could largely solve
the problem of overpricing, if not end it completely. A ticket
buyer could be assured that he or she is not being overcharged,
unlike with the vendors, be they blind or have 20-20 vision.
Apparently, a study by the Thailand Development and Research
Institute concluded that vending machines would not solve the
problem of overpricing without more lottery tickets being issued
to meet the demand. However, the newspaper countered this argument
saying, this may be the case initially when the machines are
first introduced and only a limited number of tickets are dispensed
mechanically. But, when there are enough machines installed,
the problem of overpriced lottery tickets will have been solved.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
Deputy Finance Minister Cites US
Warning if Online Lottery Project is Scrapped
THAILAND (September 7, 1999) --- The Bangkok Post yesterday
reported that the Deputy Finance Minister claimed the US embassy
has told the Finance Ministry that Thai-US relations could be
affected if the joint Jaco Co and Government Lottery Office's
contract to develop a nationwide online lottery ticket vending
system is scrapped.
However, according to the newspaper the US embassy in Bangkok
has no idea what Pichet Phanvichartkul is talking about. Mr
Pichet said a letter received from the US embassy stated Washington
understood the lottery contract was now being renegotiated and
that it expected implementation to proceed shortly. Mr Pichet
said the letter emphasised the good state of US-Thai relations,
and that Washington had no desire to see the matter affect broader
issues of concern between the two countries. A US embassy official
contacted by the Bangkok Post denied knowledge of the letter.
We are not aware of a letter sent recently from the embassy
to the Finance Ministry regarding the lottery issue, the official
said. Mr Pichet said this is not the first time the US government
has inquired about the status of the lottery project. A similar
inquiry was made when Amnuay Viravan was finance minister in
1997, when Thailand was in the process of launching a sovereign
bond issue in the United States, he said. If the lottery scheme
is cancelled, Mr Pichet said, there are no guarantees it will
not affect other areas in US-Thai relations, such as favourable
tariff privileges for Thai exports. If the contract is not cancelled,
the next step would be to finalise revisions of the concession,
now being drafted by the Attorney-General's Office. The revised
contract may reduce the amount of tickets sold through the online
system from 17 million to just two million per issue-a concession
to lottery sellers. As compensation, Jaco would receive 1.3
billion baht for the two-year delay and have its concession
extended to 15 years from 10. The original contract allows the
Government Lottery Office (GLO) to cancel the project only if
it scraps the sale of all 17 million tickets issued fortnightly
for charity purposes. The GLO issues 37 million tickets per
draw-20 million are sold by the government and the charity tickets
mainly by blind vendors. Mr Pichet said cancelling the project
outright will not affect the various charities, but also incur
damages for GLO of up to 10 billion baht. Who will take responsibility
for the damage incurred-me, the government or Mr Chaturon Chaisaeng]?
he asked. Mr Chaturon, secretary-general of New Aspiration Party,
was deputy finance minister during the Chavalit government,
and was responsible for delaying the project.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
Vending Machine Opponents call
on the Government to Accept the Cost and Revoke Lottery Contract
THAILAND (September 6, 1999) -- Democrat secretary-general Sanan
Kachornprasart has called for the scrapping of the lottery vending
machine contract, even at the cost of paying 1.3 billion baht
in compensation to the concessionaire, the Bangkok Post reported
yesterday.
The Democrat Party does not agree with the on-line lottery project.
A lot of people are objecting to it and we will have to listen
to the voice of the people, Maj-Gen Sanan is quoted by the newspaper.
Installation of the machines has been criticised by lottery
vendors, particularly the blind who fear losing their livelihood,
and MPs amid fears it would encourage gambling. Pichet Phanvichartkul,
the deputy finance minister, has proposed putting aside five
million charity tickets for blind vendors and scrapping the
remaining 12 million charity tickets so the government could
invoke an escape clause in the contract and avoid paying compensation.
However, this is unpopular since income from the charity tickets
supports many benevolent organisations. The contractor, Jaco
Co, has demanded payment of 1.3 billion baht if the government
cancels the contract. Maj-Gen Sanan, the interior minister,
said despite the hefty cost the best way out was to pay up.
This could escalate into a political problem. This government
did not initiate the project and there are more disadvantages
than benefits from the scheme now, he said. Jaco is a joint
venture between the Loxley group and a US partner.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
TAB Ready to Pay Lottery Compensation
THAILAND (September 6, 1999) -- An umbrella group of the blind
has proposed shouldering any compensation the government would
have to pay to the concessionaire of the automatic lottery-vending
service, if it yields to their demand that the project be dumped,
Thailand's The Nation reported yesterday. Thailand Association
of the Blind (TAB), which calls itself the largest civil rights
organisation for blind people in Thailand, yesterday stepped
up its campaign against the introduction of electronic lottery-
vending machines by sending e-mails to the White House and international
human rights organisations to rally their support. TAB president
Prayad Punong-ong and a number of association members yesterday
started a protest fast outside Government House to pressure
the government to cancel the project. The hunger strike began
after the group had submitted a petition to the government demanding
termination of the project. Prayad said the introduction of
the automatic vending machines would cause some 20,000 blind
and disabled lottery vendors to lose their jobs, and would badly
affect their families. TAB vice president Monthian Buntan said
if the government had to pay compensation to Jaco Co, the concessionaire
of the automatic lottery- vending service, because of the project's
cancellation, then the association would take responsibility
for the payment. He did not elaborate how the group would get
the money for the compensation. He said more blind people were
expected to join the hunger strike, which will last until the
government scraps the project. ''Our protest will be peaceful.
We will not block the roads and give other people trouble,''
he said. Democrat MP for Chumphon province, Suvaroj Palang,
an outspoken critic of the electronic lottery-vending project,
yesterday called on Deputy Finance Minister Pichet Phanvichartkul,
a fellow Democrat MP, to revamp the executive board of the Government
Lottery Office (GLO) if it objects to the move to cancel the
project.
Pichet, who has jurisdiction over the GLO, is empowered to replace
the whole board by dint of his executive portfolio should it
refuse to abide by any policy he issues, he said.
Suvaroj and other Democrat MPs have expressed strong opposition
to the project and successfully pressured Pichet during the
party's meeting on Tuesday to review it, after an arbitration
committee ruled in favour of the concessionaire to end the delay
of its implementation under orders by the two previous governments.
According to Suvaroj, in its complaint to the arbitration committee
in September last year the concessionaire had demanded compensation
of Bt1.3 billion for the delay. The GLO, however, later said
it could settle the legal dispute with company by agreeing to
extend the concession period from the original 10 years to 15
years, on condition that the number of bi- monthly lottery tickets
it would sell through machines be reduced from 14 million to
2 million per draw. Suvaroj said that although the deal sounded
preferable in terms of lessening the impact on blind and disabled
lottery vendors, he still doubted its transparency.
SOURCE: Compiled by LI staff from local media reports.
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