Lottery online only makes things worse for stroke-of-luck seekers

Amorn Wanichwiwatana, Chulalongkorn University, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok

The constant campaign by the Government Lottery Office (GLO) to launch "lotto", a new online lottery game, has concerned not only ordinary decent people but also academics who are afraid of what another type of discrete legal gambling might lead to. There are no exact figures for gambling addicts here in Thailand, but information that I collated from anonymous lottery players in the UK reveals the frightening power of gambling addiction.

The increasing suicide rates among young Thai men, recently released by the Department of Public Mental Health, and even stories from national newspapers, show a worrying trend in the motives behind suicide. Most were believed to be gambling- related. Not only the lottery, but short-term investments in the stock market have also to be considered a form of gambling. People from all walks of life enter the stock market or watch the graphic displays in a dealer room waiting for the moment to buy or sell. They might as well be playing the lottery. We should not forget the small investor who attempted suicide several years ago after big losses.

The GLO has defended itself by saying it wants to curb the illegal lottery operators. This is absurd. Recent reports suggest that the GLO wants to protect itself from legal disputes by renting the lottery machine from Jarco International Ltd, which is already locked in a court-battle with the GLO! Not only that, the recent scandal of cheating in the lottery draw by several GLO officials has critically undermined its credibility. There was then a whitewash as a government interrogatory committee failed to take action against either the responsible government minister or the GLO director. We are back to the old situation where the rich and powerful get away unpunished.

How can the GLO possibly expand its business before it sets its own house in order? Well-placed sources are saying that lottery tickets, which earn several hundred million baht in each fortnightly sale, are being monopolised by companies with close connections to powerful politicians. These companies then sell them on to small dealers.

There is no way to stop similar problems with the new lottery game. The lottery supports a murky underworld of corruption and organised crime, with price-fixing and manipulation. Its profits end up in the hands of the well-connected rather than the majority of society. This severely damages our national reputation and leads outsiders to believe that good governance or corporate governance is simply a daydream.

There are two other major issues that are crucial for the government to consider before launching a new lottery game:

First, the new automated lottery machine, although popular in the UK, the U.S. as well as several other countries, is not suited to the Thai way of life. The tickets will be so easily available at any convenience store that it is bound to create new addicts, especially with lottery draws on extra days. It is impossible to locate the machines far from schools and monasteries (as the GLO wants), because schools and monasteries are found in all areas of our cities. The desire to make a profit is sure to encourage people to put machines in inappropriate places.

In the same way as they are already addicted to football gambling, many young people are bound to believe the illusion that the lottery is a quick way to solve all their problems. The low cost of a new lottery ticket would tempt everyone to play even more. The social cost in dealing with more suicides would be terrible. We hope not to see more young people lost to this or other types of gambling which are sure to follow. Lottery scratch cards and free casinos may be controversial now, but in the end, the government will probably allow them.

Second, the responsibility of the GLO is not simply to sell tickets and make money: It also has a social responsibility. We need to learn from the experience in the UK and the U.S. They have set up a National Lottery Commission or an Ombudsman to supervise the lottery company and retailers, and they enforce laws designed to protect the rights of lottery-users.

This is a far cry from the Thai system where most of the GLO board are government officials and some "insiders". Until there is better regulation, there is nothing to prevent more misconduct. Many questions remain unanswered. What is to stop minors from playing the new lottery? How can we be sure the computer technology is safe and fair? If even a television draw could be fiddled, how much more computer software! Is the government preparing any support for future gambling addicts? In asking these simple questions, I feel like a voice in the wilderness, but the plain fact is that nobody has yet given proper answers.

If the government really wants to eradicate illegal gambling, it must lead by example. The lottery has certainly increased government revenue, but this is outweighed by its social costs. How can a nation survive with its citizens addicted to vice, whether legal or illegal? It is impossible for me to say in such a short article just how harmful gambling is. The government must look beyond the survival of its Cabinet to the long-term welfare of its people.