It appeared as a happy ending for struggling lottery vendors who decided to end a rally after their demands for government assistance in securing a quota of cheaper tickets were met. However, only time will tell whether the vendors' plight will really be resolved.
The vendors, led by Jeerasak Noikam, president of the Loei Province Lottery Club, were satisfied with a pledge for a bigger quota from Anucha Nakasai, the minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, who met them in his capacity as chairman of a panel tackling lottery overpricing.
During the two-day protest at Government House which began on Monday, the vendors complained about the pricing structure that forced them to buy expensive tickets, 92 baht apiece from major wholesalers.
They say the pricing makes it impossible for them to sell the tickets to the public at the official price of 80 baht. They pass on the difference, which has led to several vendors being subject to arrests and fines.
The vendors lambasted the Government Lottery Office (GLO) head and board for ignoring their plight.
Mr Anucha's pledge for a bigger quota appeased the vendors; but sooner rather than later, the vendors will discover the promise is just a piecemeal measure.
The problem's root cause -- the dominance of lottery quota by a few powerful wholesalers -- remains unresolved. With such an unscrupulous system, sellers have to sell overpriced tickets and risk being arrested.
Now the government has launched online ticket sales via the Paotang app which enables buyers to obtain tickets online at 80 baht, the vendors will again lose out.
No matter what the government tries, it keeps missing the point when tackling the lottery ticket issue.
After the 2014 coup, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said he had placed the overpriced lottery issue on the "national agenda."
A few days after taking power, he assigned senior army officers, among them Gen Apirat Kongsompong, to sit on the GLO board.
Apart from raising penalties for selling overpriced tickets -- one month in jail and an increase in fines from 2,000 baht to 10,000 baht -- there have been no significant changes in the lottery system.
The Prayut government also named another top soldier, Lt Col Noon Sansanakhom, formerly commander of the Second Infantry Division, as GLO director. While it's unclear whether his skills and military background made him the right person for the position, the past eight years have proved fruitless in dealing with the overpricing issue.
In March, Seksakol Atthawong, then an aide to Gen Prayut, made headlines when he upped efforts to combat lottery overpricing.
But instead of uprooting the contentious quota allocation system, he chose to target several companies which were believed to have connections with key politicians. The efforts backfired after a leaked audio clip suggested Mr Seksakol was himself involved in lottery quotas. Mr Seksakol had to quit the government team over the scandal.
Now the government is pinning its hopes on the e-lottery system which, at a glance, may appear to help solve the overpricing issue, as it cuts out the powerful wholesalers, but it also creates problems for lottery vendors on the street. Without a clear direction on a fair quota system, the government risks hurting small-scale vendors, some of who are from vulnerable groups such as the disabled.
