The Cabinet has approved the Treasury to issue a charity lottery worth 2.1 billion baht to support three major projects that strengthen hospitals on the Thai-Cambodian border while simultaneously boosting the soft power budget.
On 2 June 2026, Ms. Ploytale Lakshamisangchan, Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office, revealed the Cabinet meeting results. The Cabinet resolved to approve the Ministry of Finance to issue a new round of charity lottery tickets totaling over 2.1 billion baht to support three major projects approved by the Charity Lottery Project Review Committee, amounting to a total of 2,179.24 million baht.
The funds raised from this charity lottery issuance will be allocated by the government into two key areas: border public health and the enhancement of national culture. For border public health, the highest allocation of 990.72 million baht will go to the “Project to Support Medical Equipment to Strengthen the Capacity of Hospitals in Areas Affected by the Thai-Cambodian Border Conflict” aimed at improving health care for residents and officials in high-risk areas. For culture and soft power, 800 million baht has been approved for the “Project to Promote and Raise Awareness of Thai Culture and National Image,” and another 388.52 million baht for the “Project to Drive the Utilization of Cultural Capital to Create Economic Value,” focusing on transforming cultural assets into national income.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office added that to ensure transparency and legality, the Cabinet assigned the Government Lottery Office as the main agency responsible for the entire system, from printing and distribution to prize payment, and to coordinate strictly with the project-owning agencies.
Additionally, the government has established tax collection mechanisms, requiring charity lottery licensees to pay a gambling tax at a rate of 0.5 percent on the ticket sales before deducting expenses, in accordance with the Ministry of Interior regulations.
“To ensure proper oversight and that objectives are met, the Cabinet has directed all agencies receiving budget support to prepare detailed lottery issuance plans and expenditure plans for each project. These must be reported continuously to the Charity Lottery Project Review Committee to guarantee that the charitable funds from the public are used efficiently and for their intended purposes,” Ms. Ploytale emphasized in closing.