Guide
How the Thai lottery works
Thailand's national lottery is run by the Government Lottery Office and is usually drawn twice a month, on the 1st and the 16th. Each ticket has a six-digit number and an official price of 80 baht, and the first prize is 6,000,000 baht. This guide explains how draws, tickets and prizes work, what the odds are and how to check a ticket.
Who runs the Thai lottery?
The Government Lottery Office (GLO) is the state agency that prints the tickets, holds the draws and pays the prizes. Its office is at 359 Nonthaburi Road, Tha Sai, Mueang Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok.
Only the GLO's results are official. Newspapers, TV channels and websites, including ChokLotto, republish them, and the GLO itself advises confirming any win against its own announcement.
When are the draws?
Draws are usually held twice a month, on the 1st and the 16th. Each draw is called a งวด, and the draw date is printed on every ticket.
When a draw date falls on or next to a public holiday, the GLO can move it by a day or two. Check the GLO's calendar before relying on a date.
What is on a ticket?
Every ticket carries a six-digit number between 000000 and 999999, plus the draw date. Tickets are printed in sets of one million, so each set contains every possible number once.
The official price is 80 baht per ticket. Tickets are sold by authorised sellers and by street vendors all over Thailand, and in practice many sellers charge more than the official price.
What can you win?
The GLO publishes the same prize table for every draw. The amounts below are per prize, for a set of one million tickets.
| Prize | What must match | Prizes | Baht each |
|---|---|---|---|
| First prizeAll six digits | All six digits | 1 | 6,000,000 |
| Next to first prizeThe numbers one above and one below the first prize | The numbers one above and one below the first prize | 2 | 100,000 |
| Second prizeAll six digits | All six digits | 5 | 200,000 |
| Third prizeAll six digits | All six digits | 10 | 80,000 |
| Fourth prizeAll six digits | All six digits | 50 | 40,000 |
| Fifth prizeAll six digits | All six digits | 100 | 20,000 |
| First three digitsThe first three digits, two numbers drawn | The first three digits, two numbers drawn | 2,000 | 4,000 |
| Last three digitsThe last three digits, two numbers drawn | The last three digits, two numbers drawn | 2,000 | 4,000 |
| Last two digitsThe last two digits, one number drawn | The last two digits, one number drawn | 10,000 | 2,000 |
| Total per set | 14,168 | 48,000,000 |
The table assumes the whole set is sold. If some tickets go unsold, the GLO reduces the prizes in proportion.
What are the odds?
Each ticket has a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of winning the first prize, because a set of one million tickets has exactly one first-prize number.
Across all nine prize types there are 14,168 prizes per million tickets, so a single ticket has roughly a 1 in 71 chance of winning something. About seven in ten of those prizes are the 2,000-baht last-two-digits prize.
If a full set is sold, it brings in 80 million baht and pays out 48 million baht in prizes: on average, 60% of the money spent on tickets comes back as prizes. Lucky numbers, dreams and past results do not change any of these odds.
How do you check a ticket?
- Find the draw date printed on the ticket.
- Open the official results for that date and compare all six digits, then the first three, the last three and the last two.
- Before you claim, confirm any win against the GLO's official announcement.
How are prizes claimed?
Prizes are paid to whoever presents the winning ticket, so keep it safe, dry and undamaged. You have two years from the draw date to claim; after that, the prize money goes to the state.
A stamp duty of 1 baht for every 200 baht of prize money (0.5%) is deducted when you claim. Foreign visitors are generally asked to show their passport. For large prizes, the GLO call centre on 0-2528-9999 can explain the current procedure before you travel to the office.
Luck, beliefs and the lottery
Many people in Thailand choose numbers from dreams, licence plates, important dates or rituals at temples and shrines. These beliefs are a real part of Thai culture, and our guide to lucky numbers explains where they come from. They are traditions, not a way to improve the odds above.
This guide is for information only. ThaiLumaGuide does not sell lottery tickets and is not affiliated with the Government Lottery Office. Rules and dates can change, so always confirm them with the GLO.
