Online lottery is amazingly popular in Thailand. It is also known as “หวยออนไลน์” in the country although it is issued by the government rather than private companies in the west. It is so popular that everyone knows how to play it. It is so simple yet so complex at the same time, especially how they do it in Thailand. It is so much more than a game. It has become a hope for those with less fortune as well as a fun hobby for the rich. It was already popular and played by a lot of people, especially in the northeastern region of Thailand. But now that it has been modernized and made online by a company called “LottoVip”, the popularity skyrocketed beyond reason. It is an activity adored by millions of Thai people. There are many reasons why Thai people love this game so much that they involve it in almost everything in their daily lives.Due to the Thais’ ridiculous superficiality, if anything out of ordinary happens to them, they immediately buy the number in hopes of winning the lottery. If someone in their family passed, they buy the number according to age, apartment number, the date of death, or anything related to that person. It is just astounding how Thai people spectacularly incorporate this belief system into “หวยออนไลน์.” It makes the game so much more personal and exciting than just going into a grocery store and simply buying and hoping to win.Another reason “หวยออนไลน์” is deeply rooted in Thai society is that the country is poor. I’m not talking about the king or those in the 1 percentile but the working and middle class, which are the 99 percent of the population. Because the lottery only costs 2 dollar a ticket while first prize payouts come to about 2 hundred grands; the lottery becomes a pillar of hope for some of them, especially in times of poverty from COVID19.Superficiality is a common trait in Thailand. This sometimes interferes with the way Thai people seek specific numbers. That is why being online plays an important role for the lottery to be popular nationwide. To expand on that, “ หวยออนไลน์ ” in Thailand does not require the buyer to scratch so they can see what numbers they are buying right off the bat. This correlates well with the aforementioned belief where certain numbers bear a significant meaning to certain players. It also takes less effort on the buyers’ end to seek certain numbers because they can just buy whatever numbers they are looking for by just logging into their account and choosing the wanted numbers.Lastly, online lottery or “หวยออนไลน์” is so easy to get into. While it is not as easy as the western system where the buyers purchase the ticket randomly, the thai personal belief simplifies the buying process since they already know what numbers they want to buy. The fun of waiting if what they possess will come to fruition, a couple of hundred thousand dollars fruit to boot.All in all, the popularity doesn’t come out of nowhere but because of so many factors. Sure, it is not only popular for the Thais but the lottery has come a long way since it was created. It may just be a game but it has also traveled through time and space and become fundamentally popular to the point that even the younger generation also starts to pick up the game. It is so simple. It is around us everywhere. It is a “หวยออนไลน์”, a game loved and adored by the Thais all across the nation.
