The government was pretty hasty in its announcement that it would change the law in order to patch up the legal fallacy, but in doing so it has missed the best opportunity to change, or at least evaluate, its policy on the issue.

Basically, the government is maintaining the status quo. The main argument to continue the lotteries is to prevent a resurgence of the underground lotteries.

This is a chronic problem, but the government must be brave enough to decide. Should there be more underground lotteries, then employ a tough crackdown policy. Destroy the Mafia network and disable all its bosses.

Don't say it's impossible. Now is the right time to demonstrate that the government is really forging ahead with its "moral-society" agenda.

The government should impose penalties for all activities involved with underground lotteries so severe that no one dares touch them. Instead, it's acting like a hypocrite.

Of course, the toughest punishment of all must be levied on officials, especially police officers, should they be found to be involved. Expel them from the ranks and throw them in jail.

The government must send a clear message that society will be governed by the rule of law and will not accommodate any vice in society.

However, the government has decided to have it both ways, keeping the lottery but at the same time spending some of the money on campaigning against it. What!

What's the point of campaigning if the lottery is allowed to go on the way it is? Does the government really think campaigns will prevent people hoping to get rich quicker than by boiling instant noodles?

And why should money be spent on such campaigns anyway? This is the most ridiculous contradiction.

Since the Cabinet has already made its stance clear, let it be a matter of choice for the people to decide how much they want to spend on lotteries. If the public wants to impose a tax on itself and stop work on the 1st and 16th of every month, so be it.

Let people bear the consequences of their own decisions. Let people go broke; let them remain poor if that's their choice. Enough of this "papa-knows-best" attitude from the government.

What's crucial is that the Cabinet make sure that laws governing the lottery become stricter and their enforcement tighter and that any and all violators be subjected to the same punishment.

Furthermore, should any part of the lottery revenue be spent on campaigns, it should focus on pressing ones like the campaign against sexual harassment at Suvarnabhumi Airport or awareness of Aids, which is going through a silent resurgence in Thai society.

If not spent on campaigns, money should be spent on more books for existing libraries, on building more libraries and on planting more trees in cities. Spend the money on the disabled, spend it on healthcare and, most important of all, spend it on education.

Trying to build a moral society seems to be a priority for this government, but nothing concrete in terms of education has been formulated yet.

All the government has been doing so far is to make it a little harder for people to "see" the vices, but it's totally different from being "exposed" to them. Lottery tickets can be found on every street in the country.

First it's the alcohol-advertising ban; now the "don't see, won't do" logic has been expanded to include  lottery tickets.

In the near future we will see none of the usual televised lottery draws, or the faces of the jackpot-winners in newspapers. The good thing is that the winners will find the peace of mind they deserve, but not seeing their faces in the media doesn't translate into people buying fewer lottery tickets.

As long as the investment for two- and three-digit tickets is cheap and the jackpot is at least Bt10 million, the incentive to take the risk will always be there. You can win millions for only Bt20.

Despite all that's been said on morality, nothing has changed policy-wise. So, dear government, please stop bragging about being a moral crusader.

 Veenarat Laohapakakul