"If the government lists the underground lottery operations as an offence under antimoney laundering laws, underground operators will face asset seizures and this will finally doom the underground lottery," Charan said.

On Thursday, he suggested that the big jackpots - at least Bt20 million for each semi monthly draw of the government's two and threedigit lottery - should be abolished. The grand prizes were a vicious means to seduce people into buying more lottery tickets, he said.

The administration led by Thaksin Shinawatra failed to consult people and social activists when it launched the two and threedigit lotteries together with the big jackpots as a countermeasure against organised lotteries three years ago, he said.

"We don't need the jackpot to crack down on underground lotteries. We can use antimoney laundering laws," Charan said yesterday.

The criminal code only imposed fines, which was not enough to slow the underground lottery operators down, he added.

Under the previous government, a proposal to add gambling, including lotteries, to the list of offences under the AntiMoney Laundering Act of 1999 was shot down in Parliament. Jaran believes some politicians with ties to illegal bookmaking syndicates were behind the move.

The new government should reevaluate the merits of its two and threedigit lottery scheme. "It has both good and bad points," he said.

If the government keeps the lotteries, civic organisations and people's networks should be enlisted to ensure that sales proceeds were distributed properly.

The lotteries should serve just as an alternative to people who want to play games of chance.

"But please don't promote them," he said, adding that he was hoping to launch a crackdown on gambling dens soon.

Phra Phayom Kallayano, the oft quoted preacher and abbot of Suan Kaew Temple in Nonthaburi, said the media should stop reporting on jackpot winners because it fanned vain hopes among lottery customers.

The national two and threedigit lotteries together with the big jackpots should continue as a way to keep people from falling for local versions, he said.

"To discourage people from buying lottery tickets, they should carry warning messages like those on cigarette packs," the monk added.

The Nation