BANGKOK, Thailand – A Thai parliamentary consumer protection committee is preparing to push for major increases in government lottery prizes, including raising the first prize jackpot from 6 million baht to 10 million baht. Boonrawee Yomjinda, a party-list MP and deputy chair of the House Consumer Protection Committee, said the proposal stems from public complaints that lottery payouts have remained unchanged for more than a decade despite strong revenues generated by the Government Lottery Office.
The proposal, expected to be raised during the committee’s May 21 meeting, includes increasing:
- Two-digit prizes from 2,000 baht to 5,000 baht
- Three-digit prizes from 4,000 baht to 10,000 baht
- The first prize jackpot from 6 million baht to 10 million baht
Boonrawee said the committee plans to summon the director of the Government Lottery Office to provide information on annual revenues and profits to assess whether larger payouts are financially possible. He argued that lottery profits should be distributed more fairly to the public and partially redirected toward social welfare programs such as scholarships for poor students and improved school lunch budgets.
The MP also defended the proposal against criticism that larger prizes could encourage gambling addiction, insisting the measure is a commercial adjustment rather than an attempt to “intoxicate” the public with gambling. He added that increasing official lottery rewards could also help reduce the popularity of illegal underground lotteries in Thailand.
