Assessment of Tourism Development Potential Based on Tourism Components in Buffer Zone of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Uthai Thani Province

Abstract

Retail investors pay limited attention to alternative gambling activities. More-attentive activities increase, whereas less-attentive activities decrease. However, attention is unobservable. Previous studies proxy gambling attention based on representative gambles, such as lotteries. These proxies incorporate general gambling and representative-gambling attention. Thus, previous studies have reported net effects. This study analyzes the effects of gambling attention on the trading of retail investors in the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Lotteries served as representative gambles. Gambling attention is decomposed into general gambling and lottery-specific components, enabling the study to separately estimate the effects of each component. Lotteries in Thailand offer fixed prizes. However, traditional proxies are not applicable. This study measures attention using the Google search volume index on a lucky-number query. The query is based on a superstitious belief that is unique to the Thai market. Using daily observations from August 6, 2008, to June 30, 2022, which totaled 3,388 observations, this study establishes that gambling attention has a net negative effect. When attention is decomposed, its general gambling and lottery-specific components exhibit positive and negative effects, respectively. Furthermore, the effect on the buying side was stronger than that on the selling side. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lottery-specific effects became positive. Retail investors responded to lottery-specific attention through stock trading.