The government has defended its raids on overpriced lottery ticket vendors, saying they were part of the government’s efforts to prevent people from abusing the law and were not politically motivated.
Referring to the “five tigers,” or major lottery distributors who won the majority of ticket distribution quotas from the Government Lottery Office (GLO) for an extended period, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said the sellers controlled lottery tickets under the previous quota system and were frequently blamed for inflated ticket prices.
The prime minister also assured that the problem has been resolved and lottery tickets are now distributed directly and proportionally to each registered vendor. He added that the process for establishing lottery ticket quotas is also being conducted in accordance with the new GLO regulations.
His remarks come in the wake of police raids on two online lottery vendors suspected of selling overpriced tickets: Kong Salak Plus and Bluedragon Lottery Company.
Lertsak Pattanachaikul, the Pheu Thai Party’s MP for Loei, on Tuesday (29 Mar), denied any involvement with the Bluedragon vendor and its connection with Muang Loei United Football Club. The club was implicated when an aide to the prime minister who leads a sub-committee tasked with investigating the irregular pricing of lottery ticket said a football club in Loei was being sponsored by Bluedragon.
According to Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, the Royal Thai Police have since been tasked with seeking a court order to block access to Bluedragon’s website. (NNT)
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