The Government Lottery Office will deploy 10 swift response teams to keep lottery prices in check after the GLO board ordered vendors to sell a pair of tickets at the official face value of 80 baht.
Thanawat Ponvichai, spokesman for the GLO board, said on Wednesday the rapid task units will go quickly to any area where they are informed that lottery tickets are being sold at more than the price cap.
A vendor caught selling the lottery tickets at more than 80 baht a pair faces being fined up to 10,000 baht and could be jailed for one month under an order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order under Section 44 of the interim charter. The order supersedes the more lenient punishment of a 2,000 baht fine with no jail under the Government Lottery Office Act.
The board, led by Lt Gen Apirat Kongsompong, deputy commander of the Army First Region, has a clear mission to end the sale of lottery tickets at 100 to 120 baht a pair, and sometimes more, despite the actual price being 80 baht. The policy takes effect for the next draw set for June 16.
The GLO prints 37 million pairs of lottery tickets for each draw.
Mr Thanawat, who is a board member, predicted that the 80-baht price will save buyers between 10 and 30 billion baht a year. That money would help to boost spending in other areas, said Mr Thanawat, who is director of the Economic and Business Forecast Centre of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.