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Online Gambling Legal In Thailand

Betting or gambling online is illegal for Thai citizens in the same way that physically taking part in the activities within the country’s borders is also prohibited. There are, therefore, no legal and regulated domestic Thai websites with which punters can deposit money. Thailand does have limited legal gambling though, and the most popular form of gambling is playing the lottery. The lottery here was very popular even before it became legal, and the government looked at all of the money people were spending on it and decided that it would make sense for them to cash in on this bonanza themselves rather than. Government-sponsored Thai lottery and betting on horse races are the only legal forms of gambling in Thailand. Thailand’s national official lottery or Thai lottery is drawn every month twice, i.e. On the 1st and 16th. This lottery is administered by GLO or the Government Lottery Office to maintain fairness.

  1. Online Gambling Legal In Thailand Usa
  2. Is Online Gambling Illegal In Thailand
  3. Online Gambling Legal In Thailand Today
  4. Is Online Gambling Legal In Thailand

Legal casinos for Thailand? The idea of legalising casinos in Thailand, an issue debated for decades, came back to life recently. A group of 12 members of the National Reform Council.

Thailand has quite strict gambling laws but still remains extensively popular throughout the country both offline and online, although technically illegal in most cases.

Check out the legal situation below, starting with the key info you need to know regarding the law, and find out which betting sites accept Thai players online.

Best Thai Betting Sites

The following is a list of the best betting sites for residents of Thailand:

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Thailand

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Key Facts: Online Gambling In Thailand

  • Most forms of gambling illegal.
  • National lottery and thoroughbred racetracks in Bangkok legal.
  • Thousands of illegal gambling houses exist throughout country.
  • Thai players frequently use overseas betting sites.
  • Punishment comes in the form of a small fine if caught.

Gambling Laws and Legislation Timeline

In spite of being very strict, Thailand’s gambling law is at least easy to understand. It can be ably summed up by the following timeline covering the passage of the country’s main pieces of legislation:

1935 – Gambling Act of B.E. 2478

Thailand’s Gambling Act of B.E. 2478 passed in 1935 is the main piece of legislation related to gambling within the country. The legislation prohibits all forms of gambling in Thailand and splits the different forms into List A or List B classifications.

List A activities include betting on blood sports and some casino games, and taking part in these activities carries the highest criminal penalties. List B activities are essentially everything else and have slightly less harsh penalties attached to them. The only activities exempt from this act are the national lottery and horse racing betting at thoroughbred racetracks in Bangkok.

1943 – Playing Cards Act of B.E. 2486

Passed in 1943, the Playing Cards Act of B.E. 2486 makes owning, manufacturing and selling playing cards illegal in Thailand. This is to help with the enforcement of the law banning gambling based card games like poker or blackjack.

1999 – Anti-Money Laundering Act of B.E. 2542

Aimed at the criminal offence of money laundering, the Anti-Money Laundering Act of B.E. 2542 also strengthens Thailand’s anti-gambling law in some specific circumstances.

Do Players Get Taxed On Winnings?

The above, therefore, gives a good account of the legal situation regarding gambling in Thailand. What’s left to discuss, then, is the attitude of the Thai authorities toward the taxation of gambling winnings.

The circumstances in that regard are that there is no framework through which the Thai government can levy taxes on gambling winnings, as for the most part gambling winnings cannot be earned legally. Fines, however, can be imposed upon punters found breaking the law by gambling and in extreme circumstances even prison sentences are possible.

Online Deposit Options & Methods

Betting or gambling online is illegal for Thai citizens in the same way that physically taking part in the activities within the country’s borders is also prohibited. There are, therefore, no legal and regulated domestic Thai websites with which punters can deposit money. Many overseas gambling providers, however, do still cater for Thai customers and many Thai citizens do take this avenue when it comes to online gambling.

This is still illegal but the Thai government have little jurisdiction over the foreign providers themselves. Betting sites which accept Thai players usually have a bank account in Thailand which players can deposit into, using a variety of methods, and then use to place bets online.

New research has found that 57% of the Thai residents gamble, and about 2.4% of the people who have so far have gambled in 2019, were individuals between 15 and 18 years of age.

The paradox here is that the gambling legislation of Thailand is still among the most stringent ones on a global scale. The Thai Government has fully banned almost all gambling operations on the territory of the country. The only exceptions from the state-wide ban has been made for horse racing and the state-run lottery. However, in spite of the strict gambling laws in the country, the gambling participation rate of local people remains on the rise, as previously reported by CasinoGamesPro.

According to a recent report compiled by the Center for Social and Business Development and Center of Gambling Studies, 57% of the Thai population gambled over the past year. The figure, which represents about 30.4 million Thailand residents, saw a rise of 1.4 million people since 2017. The research also showed that 700,000 of these people participated in a certain form of gambling for the first time this year.

What is even more concerning is the fact that there is a huge number of underage individuals who gamble. According to the data provided by the survey, 2.4% or 733,000 of the ones who participated in any gambling activity this year were aged between 15 and 18. In addition, about 46% of the gamblers are from 19 to 25 years old.

No Specific Piece of Legislation Regulates Online Gambling in Thailand

The last few years have seen rapid growth in online gambling’s popularity on a global scale. According to analysts’ expectations, the international online gambling sector is to grow to more than $60 billion by 2020, constituting a compound yearly growth of over 9%.

Is Online Gambling Illegal In Thailand

However, in spite of the strict regime that the Thai Government has imposed, online gambling is currently very popular among local residents. For the time being, there is no piece of legislation that is designated to regulation of online gambling, but the activity is considered to be subject to the ban unveiled on the entire sector.

Currently, all gambling operations in Thailand are regulated under the provisions of the Gambling Act of B.E.2478, which suspends local citizens from taking part in any gambling activities, including roulette, slot machines, card games, dice games and betting on animal fights. Despite the strict regulation, there have been many illegal gambling operations across the country. Apart from that, a large number of Thailand residents confess they use the services of foreign online casinos to bypass the restrictions implemented by the Government.

Legal

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has revealed that it has begun monitoring the growing popularity of online gambling among the country’s residents. Reports say that the Ministry is already watching local Internet activities and block the IP addresses that have been used to access any casino websites.

It is hard to say what the future holds for the online gambling sector in the country, as the activities have been rising in popularity, leaving very limited options for the Thailand Government to prevent local players from accessing overseas gambling websites. In any case, tighter restrictions do not seem to be the best option for the competent authorities, as they would have to find an efficient way to control VPN use to prevent local players from circumventing the ban.