4/13/2022

Gambling Should Be Legal In Thailand

BANGKOK: - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej yesterday told his weekly radio and television audience he would move to legalise gambling. Responding to a question from his audience, Samak said he would follow the legal model that is practised in Malaysia, Macao, Singapore and Shanghai. Gambling Should Be Legalized In Thailand, cher ae heights casino robbery, party poker download deutsch, poker set walgreens-100+ Casinos Reviews! January 13, 2018.

  1. Gambling Should Be Legal In Thailand Immigration
  2. Gambling Should Be Legal In Thailand Compared
  3. Gambling Should Be Legal In Thailand Now

A new survey conducted by Thailand's Centre for Gambling Studies and Centre for Social and Business Development has revealed that as much as 57% of the country's citizens have gambled during the past year.

While the country's legal market is restricted to the state-run lottery and horse racing, significant numbers of people were found to have gambled on both legal and illegal in 2019, based on a survey of 44,050 people aged 15 and over. The figure marks an increase from 2017, when 54.2% of the population were found to have taken part in gambling activities. When the findings were applied across the entire population, it suggests an estimated 30.4m people gamble in some form.

Thai citizens were found to gamble across a range of different legal and illegal products. Government lotteries were the most popular form of gambling, with an estimated 22.7m players, followed by underground (illegal) lotteries, which saw 17.7m players, while card games attracted 4.4m players.

While the number of football bettors, at 3.5m, was lower than each of these products, this accounted for the highest level of customer spend, with THB160.5bn (£4.3bn/€4.8bn/$5.3bn) in stakes projected for 2019. This was followed by underground lotteries, which is estimated to account for a further THB153.2bn in wagers, followed by legal, government-sanctioned lotteries, for which sales are expected to hit THB150.5bn this year.

Government lotteries saw the largest rise in players in absolute terms, increasing by 1.3m. Dice games such as Hi-Lo and Bầu cua cá cọp, on the other hand, saw the largest increase in popularity in percentage terms, increasing 82.2% to 2m players.

The government lotteries were also the most common gateway into gambling, with 28% of players' starting by buying a lottery ticket. Underground lotteries were the first form of gambling played by 27.3% of players, while 23.5% placed their first wager on card games.

Online gambling, meanwhile, remains a minority pursuit, with 1.6% of those surveyed saying they gambled via the internet. Gamblers bet a total of THB20.2bn online, with the most popular game being baccarat, played by 45.2% of customers. A further 27.6% of people had played other card games online, while 20.1% played online slots and 16.7% bet on sports.

Gambling

A further 9.4% of people said they gambled in casinos, of which 0.5% gambled at casinos abroad in countries bordering Thailand and 0.3% in other foreign countries.

According to the report, 20.9% of those aged 15-18 had participated in gambling, wagering a combined THB 10.2bn. For the 19-25 years age group, 46.3% had gambled, with this percentage falling to 42.2% of those aged 60 and above.

The report said that around half of gamblers started playing by the age of 20, with one individual claiming to have first gambled aged 7.

The figure marks an increase from 2017, when 54.2% of the population were found to have taken part in gambling activities.

The survey also found that 210,090 people fit the definition of problem gamblers, based on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGS. Of these, 38,953 fell in the 15-25 age range, 24,925 were aged 60 or older and 146,212 were aged between 26 and 59. Furthermore, 9.8% of those surveyed stated they had experienced negative effects from their gambling.

Approximately 1.1m across Thailand were estimated to have gambling debts, which totalled a combined THB10.7bn.

Nearly all forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand. The
legislation doesn’t specifically mention internet play, but
online gambling falls under the general category of gambling.
The two exceptions to the country’s ban on gambling are the
national lottery and betting on horses at a few racetracks.
Other than that, the entire country is a no-gambling zone.

Even so, gambling is big business in Thailand. Survey after
survey finds that nearly 60% of Thais engage in some form of
gambling, sports betting, or poker. A survey in 2014 concluded
that nearly ฿43 billion was wagered on the World Cup alone in
Thailand. This translates to $1.3 billion in total wagers for
that one event.

A large majority of the wagers in Thailand are placed with
local bookies and agents who operate contrary to the law. Most
major betting sites also accept customers from Thailand and
process deposits and withdrawals in Thai bahts. The government
attempts to block known gambling sites, but people are able to
access most sites with a little extra effort.

Is It Legal to Bet in Thailand?

Local police overlook gambling for the most part, but they do
conduct raids from time to time in an effort to show they are
serious. Thai police arrested more than 1,000 people in a
crackdown leading up to the 2014 World Cup. Most of those people
were bookmakers, but several individual punters were arrested as
well.

Anyone caught gambling illegally in Thailand is subject to a
฿1000 fine and up to a year in jail. It’s rare to see individual
bettors charged with gambling, but it does happen from time to
time. It would be wise to limit the amount of time you spend
hanging around underground betting parlors in Thailand.

The same thing also applies to wagers placed online. If you
get caught placing a bet over the internet, you’ll face the same
penalties as anyone caught at a local bookmaker. It’s
exceedingly rare for people to get in trouble for gambling
online, but it is possible.

Thailand

If you’re determined to get involved in gambling in Thailand,
the internet is the safest route to take. Police don’t randomly
kick down doors in search of individuals placing bets online. If
you’re not a part of a syndicate, keep a low profile, and gamble
at home away from prying eyes, you should be OK. The biggest
risk you would face at that point would be someone outing you to
the police as an act of vengeance.

Safety Precautions for Online Gambling

Many people place bets over the internet every year in
Thailand. In fact, Thailand is a popular destination for online
poker pros who can no longer play in their home countries. More
than a few online players from the US relocated to Thailand
after PokerStars and Full Tilt exited the US market.

However, some safety precautions are in order. If you like to
gamble or play poker online, keep it to yourself. Nothing good
comes from letting people know that your money comes from banned
activities in Thailand. All it takes is one tip to the local
police force and you might find yourself in hot water.

If you earn a decent income via sports betting or poker, you
should have a cover story for where that money comes from. Don’t
tell anyone you’re a professional sports bettor or poker player.
You may be proud of your profession, but you really need to keep
it to yourself for maximum safety.

Foreigners need to be especially careful in Thailand, because
the authorities don’t consider online poker or gambling to be a
legitimate job or business activity. Deportation is a very real
possibility if the authorities discover your income derives from
internet betting or poker.