The government will halve the number of dates on which official lotteries are drawn to two days per month as its latest policy aimed at reducing the number of lottery participants nationwide, and their spending.

Punters now pray for luck four times a month - on the 1st, 10th, 16th and 20th - under three legal lottery agencies.

The two draw dates of the Government Lottery Office (GLO) are the 1st and 16th of the month, the date of the Government Saving Bank's (GSB) lottery is the 20th, while that for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) is the 10th of each month.

"The four dates will be merged into two. The three agencies have reached agreement on the matter in principle," Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said yesterday.

"We hope the numbers and spending of lottery fans will be reduced, as well as a reduction of the underground lottery," he said.

Under the new policy, the two GLO lottery dates will remain the same while the GSB lottery will shift to the 1st of the month and the BAAC lottery to the 16th.

BAAC manager Theeraphong Tangtheerasunan said his bank was ready to follow the new government policy from July 16.

However, GSB director Goanpot Avinvichit said his bank would need longer to prepare for the change and would start on August 1.

Both Theeraphong and Goanpot said the new policy should not reduce their lottery-customer numbers, as their draws are not pure lotteries but rather a form of savings incentive for clients.

The GSB lottery is more like a savings scheme, as the money that customers pay is kept for three years, during which time they receive interest and participate in the bank's lottery 35 times.

The concept of the BAAC's lottery - called the Thaweesin saving lottery - is similar to the GSB's.

 Wanchai Surakul, acting director of the GLO, said changing the BAAC lottery might need further detailed discussion as it involved many aspects, including committees, instruments and live television broadcasts every lottery date.

Responding to the new policy, Bangkok resident Sukanya said it might not reduce her lottery spending.

"I might even spend more if I get the lucky number for that date. For sure, it won't make me quit spending on tickets," she said. Sukanya spends several hundred baht each month on the GLO and underground lotteries.