But now the government is in need of money to offset lower-than-expected revenue collection.

Come to think of it, the re-launch of the two and three digit lotteries would not be such a bad idea. It's another form of taxation, on low and medium-income earners.

Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangarn almost won applause from punters by recommending that the government relaunch the lotteries. But it was not the case due to a seemingly small, yet huge, problem.

Chalongphob recommended that the new two- and three-digit lottery system would be different from the one introduced by the previous government, copied from the underground system. The new one will carry designated numbers and not allow the punters to choose them.

Chalongphob might have the good intention to suppress the underground lottery and respond to the needs of gamblers. But he obviously failed to understand the suspense and excitement of a system that allows the punters to choose the numbers that they like.

First of all, lottery players love to choose their own numbers because they buy them according to their beliefs. They buy numbers based on their birthdays or licence plates. When a guru monk passes away, the first question that a lottery player will ask is: how old was he?

Why? Because his age is considered the most likely number to hit the jackpot. 

Some punters prefer in rubbing the trunk of a big tree until a vision of the number appears. If Chalongphob finds this hard to believe, just check out Mahabut Temple's Nang Nak's shrine on the night before each lottery draw. You'll find a mob of people rubbing trees.

Many people have fun translating their dreams into numbers. This a myth that cannot be explained even by a mathematician with a beautiful mind because, at times, the punters have to twist the number upside-down. Say, you dream of the number 69. So you buy number 96.

Not only the punters but also the lottery vendors have come out to oppose the new lottery system. In a recent instant TV poll, 94 per cent of respondents said they wanted to select their own numbers.

Vendors fear that tickets with pre-designated numbers will be sold in small numbers. So what will they do with all those piles of unsold tickets with unsexy numbers?

Now, it's not certain if the government will be able to relaunch the new lottery system on June 2 in the face of expected protests from vendors.

It's always dangerous to play with sin. But if government officials want to do it, they have to do it right to serve the public's desperate hope for easy money.

 I am not suggesting that the traditional two- and three-digit lottery system where the punters can pick their own numbers is good for economy. But admit it, the longstanding underground lottery system is a hard habit to break.

jeerawat@nationgroup.com