People around the world speak different languages and live in different circumstances but there's one common language that is universally spoken: the lottery.

In all corners of the globe some poor people put their fortunes into the lottery in hopes of winning big, while the rich tend to play using their petty cash.

While most people would just consider their efforts gambling, what they might not

know is that they lottery-ticket gambling strategies that are utilised are akin to an investment technique called Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA).

DCA is a periodic investment at a fixed amount, as in a particular stock or fund or in the market as a whole, on the belief that the average value of the investment will rise over time even though it might not be possible to foresee intermediate highs and lows.

Lottery-players, though, get no return other than the long-shot possibility of a huge win.

If you are either searching for an alternative investment tool and just can't beat the urge to gamble with your fortunes, consider the Government Savings Bank's lottery or the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives' lottery, which is called the Om Sap Thawisin Saving Card.

Both the GSB and the BAAC periodically hold lotteries with tickets that double as savings vehicles similar to the time-deposit accounts most banks offer.

There's no fixed investment amount, nor a regular date of issuance.

The GSB's tickets are worth Bt50 a unit and the BAAC's, Bt500.

Each unit has the possibility of winning a prize on a monthly basis during the 36 months the time deposit is in play.

Details for winning prizes in each series are different, depending on the marketing strategy and economic circumstances at the time of issuance.

But mostly the prizes are for higher interest rate payments.

There are also two grand prizes of up to Bt10 million as in the GSB's current round and one grand prize worth Bt20 million in the BAAC's present lottery round.

These top-of-the-heap prizes tend to vary from round to round and there are usually one or two winners per instalment.

The GSB, which has held such lotteries since 1942, did not previously pay interest to those holding the tickets.

But following recent interest-rate hikes, its latest series offers Bt4.25 interest on each unit to those who redeem them at maturity.

Those investors who fail to hold on to them until the bitter end are charged Bt1-Bt2 a unit, depending on when they decide to redeem them.

On the other hand, the BAAC does not charge people who redeem their tickets early, but it pays only a 2.3-per-cent interest rate.

People who win monthly prizes in the lottery, which is based on the last three digits of each unit voucher, will receive another 0.96 percentage points in interest.

Because the units are priced at Bt500, anybody that invests Bt500,000 will have all three digits covered, automatically qualifying them for the extra interest payments every month through the life of the ticket.

GSB ticket holders with investments exceeding Bt500,000 receive 3.53-per-cent in-

terest.

This derives from the 2.16-per-cent return from automatically winning the four-digit winning prize every month, plus the standard 1.37-per-cent deposit interest rate.

In both BAAC's and the GSB's lotteries, investing the magic amount of Bt500,000 will ensure voucher holders of the highest rate possible.

Beside these fixed returns, unit-holders also have a chance to win other prizes throughout 36 months, including the grand prizes  that the banks offer.

According to the GSB, during the past five years, 70 per cent of unit-holders who won the grand prize had invested between Bt500,000 and Bt5 million.

Those who invested less than Bt500,000 accounted for 14 per cent of the first-prize

winners, those who invested Bt5 million-Bt10 million and more than Bt10 million respectively accounted for 3 and 12 per cent of first-prize winners.

It is a matter of luck.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who invested Bt13 million when buying the first set of the BAAC's lottery vouchers several years ago before his days as the premier, never won the grand prize.

There's also record of one person winning the grand prizehaving bought just one lottery voucher.

Because they pay interest and can also scratch your lottery itch if you have one, the GSB's or BAAC's lottery is recommended as an alternative for those who are interested in investment diversification.

If you hold onto them till the end and fail to win the grand prize, at least your initial investments has paid off at a better rate than you'll get at most financial institutions in simple savings accounts.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation