Thanadech urges the Ministry of Defence to resolve the veterans' share quota issue of government lottery tickets before signing the new contract in mid-November. He exposes the Veterans Welfare Organization (VES) for aggregating and selling lottery quotas to private companies at cost price, causing an annual loss of 250 million baht in welfare funds while executives receive lavish bonuses. Tags: [Veterans Welfare, Lottery Quota, Ministry of Defence, Welfare Funds, Corruption]
On 5 November 2026, during a parliamentary session, Thanadech Pengsuk, MP for Bangkok from the People’s Party, raised a verbal question to Lieutenant General Adul Boonthamcharoen, Minister of Defence, regarding a lack of transparency in the management of government lottery quotas by the Veterans Welfare Organization (VES). Evidence shows that quotas were aggregated and sold to private investors at cost price, resulting in veterans and their families losing nearly 250 million baht annually in welfare opportunities. He called for urgent resolution before the new lottery allocation contract in November.Tags: [Parliament, Lottery Management, Veterans Welfare, Transparency, Financial Loss]
Thanadech stated that currently, the VES’s Lottery and Tobacco Distribution Office receives a quota of 10,988 lottery books per draw from the Government Lottery Office, roughly 1 million tickets per draw, totaling about 26 million tickets annually. The production cost per ticket is 68.80 baht, and with a 2% management fee, the total cost is about 70.40 baht per ticket. However, in practice, VES sells the entire quota to private companies at cost price instead of managing it to generate profit for the organization. This causes a profit margin loss of 9.60 baht per ticket, equating to nearly 250 million baht lost yearly that could have been welfare funds for veterans.Tags: [Lottery Quota, Costs, Veterans Welfare, Financial Loss, VES Management]
Thanadech added that he had previously raised this issue in June and received a commitment from the minister to digitize the lottery quota system to eliminate middlemen and ensure full benefits reach veterans. However, there has been no concrete progress to date. He is following up to demand accountability and calls for investigations and action against all involved parties.Tags: [Digital Lottery System, Accountability, Veterans Welfare, Corruption Investigation, Parliamentary Oversight]
Lieutenant General Adul explained that he agrees in principle with digitizing the lottery but has concerns about legal issues, existing contractual obligations, and risks that unsold tickets could affect cash flow and income needed to support over 680,000 veterans nationwide. Historical data showed some digital lottery draws had leftover tickets, so careful consideration is necessary. Regarding past wrongdoing, he is ready to proceed based on investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Auditor General, and Department of Special Investigation, with no protection for offenders.Tags: [Digital Lottery, Legal Concerns, Veterans Support, Anti-Corruption, Government Oversight]
Thanadech further questioned how VES could generate profit to support veterans if it sells tickets to private companies at actual cost. Moreover, he uncovered a list of 130 individuals submitted by VES to the Government Lottery Office as quota recipients who, upon investigation, never actually sold tickets. They were only nominal signatories used to transfer rights to private companies, suggesting nominee practices benefiting undisclosed actual recipients. He plans to compile and submit the list to the minister for further investigation.Tags: [Nominee Practices, Lottery Quota Abuse, Veterans Welfare, Corruption Investigation, VES Accountability]
Thanadech also questioned the appropriateness of paying bonuses to VES executives. Just in the lottery and tobacco distribution office, executives received bonuses of about 80,000 baht every two quarters, over 160,000 baht annually, with similar payments in other VES enterprises. This is despite VES being a charitable state organization with the core mission of supporting national veterans, not a state enterprise. Lieutenant General Adul acknowledged that past audits by the Office of the Auditor General found excessive bonus payments and regulations have been revised. He is willing to review and adjust bonus payments appropriately.Tags: [Executive Bonuses, VES Management, Veterans Welfare, Audit Findings, Government Organization]
In closing, Thanadech emphasized that incentives and benefits should go to veterans who sacrificed for the nation, not to organization executives. He directly asked whether the government would continue allowing VES to aggregate quotas and sell them to private companies at cost in the new contract mid-November. Lieutenant General Adul replied that without confidence that online sales can fully distribute tickets, the current management system must be maintained to avoid harming state revenue.Tags: [Veterans Benefits, Lottery Contract, Government Policy, Online Sales, Ministry of Defence]
Thanadech concluded by stating that the minister’s answer to continue the "existing system" is most concerning because it means quotas will again be aggregated and sold to private companies at cost. He said he does not insist on the sales channel used but stresses that income differences must return as welfare for veterans, not allow private investors to profit from quotas intended to support those who sacrificed for the country. He urged the Ministry of Defence to urgently resolve this issue before the new contract is finalized in a few days.Tags: [Veterans Welfare, Lottery Quota, Ministry of Defence, Financial Integrity, Contract Negotiations]