Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday pledged to bring the price of lottery tickets to the official 80-baht mark in June.
Gen Prayut said he ordered concerned agencies to sort out the lottery situation almost nine months ago, but they failed. So now he has to take matters into his own hands, he said.
"I intend to try to accomplish it for the lottery draws in June," Gen Prayut said. "Whoever cheats or corrupts [the sale of tickets] will be jailed."
He added that he could not guarantee June success, but that he would try his best.
Gen Prayut pledged to use his power under Section 44 of the interim constitution to appoint a "trusted person" as the new chairman of the Government Lottery Office in his continuing effort to enforce legal lottery prices.
Gen Prayut said Tuesday he is choosing the new GLO board chairman from hundreds of candidates. He admitted that the list of hopefuls includes Maj Gen Apirat Kongsompong, deputy commander of the 1st Army Region.
Maj Gen Apirat is the son of the late Gen Sunthorn Kongsompong, who led the 1991 coup. Thai media speculated that he would be chosen as lottery boss.
The premier said anyone appointed as GLO chairman, military or civilian, would have to be honest and capable of resolving the lottery pricing problem. If the new chief fails, he or she would also be replaced, the premier said.
Last week, Customs Department director-general Somchai Satjapong stepped down as GLO chairman to give someone else a chance to tackle the pricing issue, citing his own failure to control vendors.
