The question mark lingering over the two- and three-digit lotteries looks set to remain for the foreseeable future. Punters will have to try their luck on underground betting while waiting for concerned parties to debate whether money collected via lotteries is sinful - or acceptable, if used for charitable purposes.

Even after the general election, the lottery issue will continue to haunt society as the next government is expected to have a tough time reconciling the conservative view - that gambling is immoral - and the liberal drive to raise public funds.

What began as part of the campaign to uproot the legacy of the Thaksin Shinawatra government has evolved into a dilemma on whether to move forward with the new lottery - or cancel it for good.

At the prodding of ousted premier Thaksin, the Government Lottery Office (GLO) introduced the new lotteries with prizes that hinge on the drawing of two- and three-digit winning numbers from the regular lottery.

The GLO justified the new lottery as a fight against underground betting and as an innovative way to solicit funds for charities.

It achieved the desired result of crippling the underground lottery although it attracted hordes of criticism because of the suspicious way sales from the lottery tickets were handled. Critics claimed lottery revenues were diverted to finance Thaksin's pet projects and boost his popularity.

After the September coup, the Council of State ruled that the new lotteries were illegal and that the GLO had no mandate to sell tickets for them or claim them as being related to charity.

The Assets Examination Committee subsequently launched a graft probe into the new lotteries. It has concluded its report and recommended charges against Thaksin, his 32 ministers and 17 GLO board members and officials.

The government suspended the sale of tickets in the new lotteries in November.

It has also sponsored a draft bill designed to sort out legal problems with the new lotteries. But the draft has been left in legislative limbo because of concerns that, if passed, it might interfere with efforts to act against corruption during Thaksin's era.

Although finance and lottery officials have been pushing for the reintroduction of new lotteries to boost state coffers, they have failed to gain much support.

The departure last month of MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, the former finance minister, appears to have robbed the government of the will to fight over this issue. And it now looks likely that the matter will be left to its elected successor to deal with - some time next year.

Social advocates, such as lawmaker Sopon Supapong and Deputy Social Development and Human Security Minister Poladej Pinpratheep, are against the new lotteries. Their main arguments are that the lotteries will boost people's propensity to gamble, and that it attracts young people and minors to start betting.

Leaving punters aside, wholesale distributors and retail vendors are surprisingly reluctant to support the new lotteries. Without the new lotteries, a dozen top wholesalers of regular lotteries are reaping Bt20 million to Bt30 million each in net profits per draw, an industry insider said, on condition of anonymity.

Wholesale and retail vendors of regular lotteries suffered a sharp drop in earnings while the new lotteries were operated. These vendors see the new lotteries as competition and are inclined to promote the underground lottery instead.

If they can peddle regular and underground lotteries, they see this as an ideal opportunity to maximise profits.

The new lotteries could help small vendors hedge losses from dropped sales in regular lottery tickets.

Wholesalers could not benefit from this arrangement, as they are banned from the new lottery quotas.

But the public appears to back the new lotteries. In an Abac Poll released last week, three out of five respondents said they want the new lotteries brought back.

But, they may not get their wish fulfilled anytime soon, as four out of five people called for harsher suppression of gambling, including the lotteries.

The opinion survey uncovered a disturbing trend - some 18 per cent of minors aged between 10 and 19 had bet on the new lotteries last year, while only a mere 9 per cent gambled on the underground lottery. Without the new lotteries, punters are flocking back to underground betting. Illegal bookies have even streamlined their operations, modelled on the new lotteries. Bets now have to be placed one day before each of the twice-monthly draws and betting is capped at Bt1,000 per number picked.

Drawing on the lesson from the new lotteries, bookies have also learnt how to shield their business from going under, if punters decide to bet heavily on one freak but lucky number.

Avudh Panananda

The Nation