Most respondents believed if the government ends the two and three-digit lotteries it will have a negative impact if the government is unable to crack down on the underground lottery, according to Saowanee Thairungroj, dean of the university's Economics Faculty said yesterday.

Despite serious police efforts to suppress the underground lottery it is still popular among gamblers. Moreover, up to 30 per cent of the total illegal economy is estimated to go to underground lottery operators. The state two and three-digit lotteries generate about Bt44 billion but the underground lottery involves up to Bt400 billion.

A poll was conducted to find out people's attitudes to the state and underground lotteries. Some 1,221 respondents of different ages, education levels, and sex were polled.

Some 79.5 per cent of them said the government should keep the state lotteries.

The legal lotteries would not only increase state income but also prevent people from buying tickets in the underground lottery.

Only 9 per cent of respondents agreed with moves to cancel the two and three-digit lotteries.

Saowanee said the government should maintain the legal lottery scheme until it could ensure the underground lottery was finished. Legal lotteries would stop people putting money into underground lotteries.

She did not think the underground lottery would end until the country can reform the police.

"The study confirms the existence of illegal lotteries. Maintaining the two and three digit lotteries would stop the underground lotteries expanding," she said.

Yajai Chuwicha, director of the Chamber Business Poll, said most of respondents believed that cancelling the state lotteries would force people to buy more tickets in illegal lotteries.

A huge 91 per cent of respondents did not agree with the government policy to stop sales of the two and three-digit lotteries. They said Thai people, who generally enjoy gambling, would go back to buying tickets in the underground lottery.

Some 74 per cent said they would purchase tickets in underground lotteries if the government does cancel the two and three digit lotteries.

Of those, 47 per cent said they would buy more tickets, while 53 per cent would buy the same amount of tickets in the underground lottery.

Following the survey early this month, people increased their spending on underground lottery tickets by 8 per cent to Bt698 per a month.

Yajai said the two and three-digit lotteries would not eliminate the underground lottery. But they were better than nothing.

At least about Bt44 billion could be raised legally and directed back to help the poor and develop the Kingdom.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation