UPDATE : 21February 2010
BANGKOK, Feb 20 (TNA) -- Reasserting that the government opposes the online lottery project, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Saturday that legal experts from the Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Council of State Office are studying ways to scrap the project as well as ways to solve overpriced government lottery charged by vendors.

Speaking during a recording of his weekly address on television and radio stations due to be broadcast Sunday, Mr Abhisit said he is personally against the online lottery project as it could not solve the overpriced government-run lottery problem while it prompted more people to gamble.

He said the state would not lose any benefit if the project is scrapped while the private company which is assigned to handle the project would receive justice.

Loxley Gtech Technology (LGT), a Loxley subsidiary assigned by the ousted government of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to install electronic lottery vending machines in Thailand, has threatened to sue for Bt3 billion if the Abhisit government scraps the long-delayed online lottery project.

Under the order of the Government Lottery Office (GLO) on December 4, 2009, the company is assigned to prepare the lottery system within 90 days, by early March this year.

Loxley Gtech is responsible for setting up the system and providing equipment, technology and services for such a national online lottery in Thailand. Loxley would receive a 75 satang fee per lottery ticket while the GLO would own the electronic lottery.

LGT did not receive the concession from the government and the GLO-LGT contract did not come under the Public-Private Joint Venture Act, but the Council of State had approved carrying out the online lottery under the contract.

Touching on the government plan to borrow over Bt400 billion to spend with an aim to boost national economy, Mr Abhisit said his government is confident that it could “solve the problem and salvage the economy”.

He said the government has thought of collecting only land and property taxes in raising its revenue and to reduce a gap between the rich and the poor.

“If land and property owners don’t want to pay taxes, they should make use of them immediately,” said Mr Abhisit, adding that the issue will be submitted for Cabinet discussions in the next two weeks.
From: mcot.net