Gambling Legal In Thailand
Posted : admin On 4/6/2022A recent study revealed that 57% of the Thai population gambles. 2.4% of those who gambled this year were aged between 15 and 18 years old.
Here’s a straightforward answer regarding whether gambling is legal or not. The answer is a strict NO. The Thailand government strictly bans gambling, and hence you won’t find any illegally run casinos in Pattaya. The government has imposed strict laws as well as severe punishments for those practising such illegal activities. The majority of gambling activities are illegal in Thailand. This includes sports betting and physical casino as well as online gambling. Thailand has multiple laws to govern gambling, but online gambling on websites that are licensed and legal in their own countries generally do not attract much attention from authorities.
Editorial
Is Gambling Legal In Thailand
Thailand’s gambling laws remain among the strictest on earth. The Thaigovernment placed a full ban on almost all gambling activities in the country,with two exceptions: the state lottery and horse racing. Despite thecountry’s strict gambling ban, the gambling rate in Thailand is on the rise.
Thailand’s Center of Gambling Studies and Center for Social and Business Development reported that 57% of the country’s population, or 30.4 million Thais, gambled during the past year. This figure was an increase of 1.4 million since 2017. Furthermore, the survey also revealed that 700,000 of them are punters who gambled for the first time this year.
The survey also indicated that huge numbers of punters are children. 733,000or 2.4% of those that gambled this year were aged 15 to 18 years old. Inaddition to this, some three million or 46% are aged between 19 to 25 yearsold.
Thaigamblers are going online to bypass restrictions
The popularity and market share of online gambling is growing rapidly every year around the globe. The global online gambling market is expected to exceed US$60 billion by 2020 with a compound annual growth of more than 9%.
Online Gambling is highly popular in Thailand despite the prohibition in thecountry. Right now, there is no specificlegislation covering online gambling but it is considered prohibited by thelocal officials.
Any gambling operation in Thailand is regulated by the Gambling Act ofB.E.2478. This act prohibits all Thai citizens from playing any casino orbetting games. This includes various Thai dice games, betting on animal fights,and other traditional Thai games such as slot machines, roulette, and othercard games.
In September last year, it was reported that 748 illegal gambling sites wereshut down in the country this includes the popular but illegal Slot555.
Many Thais are using online casinos hosted overseas to circumvent thegovernment’s restrictions. This leavesthe Thai government with limited options to prevent players from gambling on foreignsites.
However, the Thai Ministry of Information and Communication Technology hasrecently started monitoring the situation. The Ministry is reportedly watchinglocal internet activity and blocking IP addresses found visiting any onlinecasinos.
Despite its widespread use, online casinos are not as popular among Thais asother gambling segments. The Centre of Gambling Studies’ survey revealed thatonly 1.6% of those surveyed gambled via the internet. The study reported thatpunters wagered a total of THB20.2 billion (US$670 million) online.
Football betting appears to be the most popular among Thai gamblers. Footballbetting generates about 160 billion baht (US$5.3 billion) each year. It is closelyfollowed by the underground lottery which produces 153 billion baht (US$5.1billion) and government-run lottery which take in 150 billion baht (US$5billion) from players.
Onlinecasino bonuses draw in Thai punters
Most online casino websites offer a free credit bonus (or คาสิโนออนไลน์เครดิตฟรี in Thai) to attract players. This bonus is advertised as free money that punters can use to play their favourite casino games online. If the punters win, they can withdraw their winnings. Moreover, punters often receive a welcome bonus which can double their initial deposit.
Aside from casino bonuses, many online casinos offer free play options to introduce new visitors to the services and the games offered on their websites. This feature allows new players to play games on the website without depositing any cash and posting bets. Many users use this free trial feature to play free slots (or เกมส์ สล็อต ฟรี in Thai) and learn the mechanics of the game. However, players cannot win money while free playing games; members can only use this function to practice the game.
Thaisocial media stars are getting paid to promote casinos
In 2018, Thai police arrested more than 6,500 people on gambling-related charges. Among those arrested were social media celebrities, affectionately known as “web pretties”. A number of these web pretties are being recruited to promote online gambling sites.
To promote the gambling site, the social media stars are using pen orlipstick to write the domains of the online casino site on their cleavage or onother body parts. They will then post videos or photos of themselves onsocial media. One girl who was caught admitted that she was receiving THB4,000to 8,000 (US$125-250) every week to promote a gambling site.
What does the future hold?
A recent study revealed that the legalization of casino gambling could generate over US$2.8 billion from additional tax revenue. However, the legalization of gambling in Thailand will remain off the table for the foreseeable future. Supreeda Adulyanont, manager of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation is pushing for tighter regulations on gambling this year.
But tighter restrictions will likely be ineffective atcurbing gambling in Thailand. The major challenge for the government is to findan efficient way to control VPN use in the country and prevent puntersmigrating online to circumvent local restrictions.
Gambling in Thailand is here to stay. It will continue to occupy the grey area, remaining a highly illegal, yet totally accessible part of Thai society. There is little the government can do at this point beyond engaging in a lengthy and expensive game of cat and mouse.
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Brick and Mortar Gambling Law in Thailand
Horse racing in Bangkok and Thai Lottery are the only forms of gambling legal under Thailand Law. Online betting is however popular in Thailand because our police do not focus on websites that are licensed and legal in other countries. In Chatuchak Market in BKK and Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai you’ll find jerseys with BWIN logos for sale. On popular Thai websites Bodog88 casino ads are found. Ladbrokes has sponsored many Asian football tours here. The presence of online gambling websites is easy to see.
Websites for Betting Online
There are multiple types of websites Thai residents can use for sports betting, casino and online poker. The two most ideal are Asian bookies and UK bookmakers, though betting with land based casinos is also possible. In this article I explain the benefits, differences and how to use each. For the benefit of readers not aware how online betting works, I first quickly explain post up.
Understanding Post Up
Both Asian bookies and UK Bookmakers operate on post up. This means you can only bet how much is in your account. Let’s say you deposit 3,000 THB. You then make a ฿500 bet. This will be taken from your account making your balance 2500 THB. If your bet loses nothing happens. If it wins the ฿500 stake is returned to your balance and the winnings are added too. At anytime you can cash out all or part of your account balance. With Asian bookies these cash outs are paid direct to your Thai bank account.
Using Asian Bookies in Thailand
Asian bookies are the easiest to use. www.bodog88.com is legal and licensed in the Philippines but markets to Thailand. They offer casino, sports betting, and poker from the same website. If you have a bank account with Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) or Krung Thai Bank making post up deposits is easy. You can use online banking right at their website, or you can make deposits at the ATM or a transfer at the bank branch.
The benefits to using Asian bookies are many. Both Thai language and English language are supported. Also it is easy to deposit with direct bank transfer in Thai Baht (THB), and therefore no currency exchange fees are involved. Most bookies including Bodog88 offer payouts to Thai banks free of charge. Here you will find live dealer casino games such as baccarat, roulette and blackjack. There are also online slot machines and other casino games such as dice (craps). The benefits for sports betting are many too.
Is Gambling Legal In Thailand
Football is the main sport of Asian sites. All the major leagues such as English Premier League (EPL), Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and German Bundesliga are covered. You’ll also find betting odds on leagues from all around the world including Thai Premier League, but also other European and Asian leagues too. Besides just football they offer betting on tennis, volleyball, Formula 1, and many other sports.
Though not all Asian bookies offer online poker, Bodog88 does. They have Texas Hold’em cash games, sit and go tournaments and scheduled multi-table tournaments. Because many of their players are from South East Asia where poker is not as big as other places, the games here are very soft. On average it is much easier to win money with Bodog Poker than with big sites such as PokerStars, Party and Bet365.
Using UK Bookmakers in Thailand
Using UK bookmakers from Thailand is not as easy as using Asian bookies. However it is well worth the hassle in getting set up. The reason why is gambling has been legal in the UK since the 1960s. Only the most reputable companies are licensed here. Take for example www.bet365.com. They are one of the largest companies in the UK and even own the English Premier Franchise Stoke City FC. You can know for certain that their casino games are fair because the UK Gambling Commission is very strict and audits these games.
There are many benefits to Bet365 but first let me tell you a trick. When you an open account for free at www.bet365.com your account will be in Thailand Baht (฿) (THB). Log-in and contact their live chat and ask the operator to switch your account to United States Dollar (USD). This will make you eligible for a 100% up to $200 sports betting bonus. You deposit $200 USD (about 6000 THB) and you start with $400 (about 12000 THB).
The only small catch is all your bets must total 3-times your deposit plus bonus amount before you cash out. To deposit you’ll need to use EntroPay or NETELLER so if not already funded there will be fees. This is why I said get ฿5600 free – the actual amount is probably a bit more.
How to Use EntroPay
www.entropay.com is a service that offers internet based prepaid VISA debit cards. The reason this is needed is because Thai debit cards do not work for deposits at online gambling sites, but do work at EntroPay. Register an account at their website and they will give you an online VISA card number. You then load the card for a 4.9% fee using your Thai debit card. I do this all the time with my Be1st Visa Debit Card from Bangkok Bank.
A small tip is your card will get declined by EntroPay if you fail to complete the Verified by Visa process. For this service you must be registered. This is fairly easy to do – just follow the instructions online if you are not already registered. Or you can Google search your bank name with the words Verified by Visa to find out how to enroll. If you’re bank is Bangkok Bank you can register here.
Once you have added money to your EntroPay account visit the Bet365 cashier. When asked how you want to deposit, select EntroPay and enter you card details and the amount and hit submit. Instantly your Bet365 account will be funded. You can then play casino, poker or bet sports from their website.
Important note: at some point you will likely get an email saying your EntroPay account has been restricted or suspended pending a routine review. They will ask you to send them a copy of your ID, utility bill and funding source and to tell the name of the merchant you intend to spend with. Sending this information is fine. EntroPay is licensed by a UK government body called the FSA and is highly reputable. This is only a security check and nothing to worry about. It is fine to tell them the name of a gambling site as the merchant because gambling is very legal in the UK.
How to Use NETELLER
www.neteller.com is more difficult to set up from Thailand. This is an e-wallet that works just like an online bank account. You can use it to cash money out of one gambling site and then deposit to another. One nice benefit is they offer an ATM card where you can withdrawal the money stored in your NETELLER account at a Thai ATM machine. The one downside is to fund your account you initially will need to either a) find a transfer from someone with a NETELLER account (such as trading them PayPal) or make a wire transfer at the bank. The latter option is a bit expensive, and also farang without work permits will probably not be allowed to make a bank transfer as it involves remitting funds out of the country. For Thais this is a good account to set up.
Bet365 Benefits
Again depositing a Bet365 is a bit more hassle than Asian bookies, but the benefits are many. As I already mentioned we know the games are fair because they are licensed in the UK. The other factor is they have FAR more casino games than any of their competitors. They also have more player volume in their poker room than any of the Asian bookies. The massive advantage is sports. Anyone with a funded account can watch live steams of sports matches right from the Bet365 website. This is a huge plus as True Vision, Home Cable and others only have limited sports coverage.
Also at Bet365 not only can you watch games live online, but you can also bet on them live. They are a market leader for live in-play betting. You can bet while the match is running on who will, the over under and also markets such as who will score the next goal, or even a race to a certain number of corners. What is mentioned here is only a small overview. This is a website that if you take the effort to use you will likely be glad that you did.
Using Land Based Casinos
There are many land based casino in countries that border Thailand that offer online betting. Crown Casino in Poipet, Cambodia is the most famous for sports betting. Savan Vegas Hotel & Casino Savannakhet, Laos is the nicest casino in the region. They offer an online casino too. These are only a couple examples. Although these are probably fine to use, understand there is no guarantee the online version of their games are fair. They are not heavily regulated the same as Bet365 is in the UK.
It is the advice of OnlineBetting.com to stick to using UK gambling sites when possible. In times the banking options are easier using casinos in Philippines, Isle of Man, and Gibraltar are good options too. These are all locations with well financed gambling commissions which greatly increases the chances the games are fair. Still in our opinion www.bet365.com is the safest and best gambling site for English speakers living in Thailand.
Is Sports Gambling Legal In Thailand
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