The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) is considering whether to take legal action against Krungsriayudhya Card, accusing the issuer of the Krungsri GE Card of involvement in illegal gambling.

According to the CSD, the company is running a campaign in which card holders get discounts of 10 to 100 per cent of their spending if the last two or three digits of an approval code on the sales slip match random figures set by the company.

The campaign, running from May 15 to July 15, has proved to be a major success. In fact, Citibank earlier had a similar campaign for its customers.

In fact, the credit card companies have come up with several marketing gimmicks, including discounts and special tickets for movie premieres.

Holders of certain cards also get privileges such as being able to park their cars in reserved spaces in certain department stores and enjoying access to VIP lounges at certain places like airports.

The current lottery-style campaign is yet another gimmick to encourage customers to choose one plastic card over the others amid fierce competition in the market.

It is understandable why the campaign has been a major success because the promotions come with excitement and suspense, especially when cardholders check the drawing of the winning numbers.

However, the CSD does not seem to be excited by the campaign. It views the promotion as too similar to the lottery, which requires a licence from the government.

PR staff yesterday told The Nation that even as the CSD was looking into this alleged violation of gambling laws, Krungsri GE had already decided to stop the campaign.

Apparently, the company may prefer to stick to traditional

promotional campaigns for a while.

We suggest that an extension to the payment deadline might not be such a bad idea for a credit card promotion.

mi_nation@hotmail.com