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  4. Is Sports Betting Legal In Thailand
  5. Is Sports Gambling Legal In Thailand 2020

Lotteries are legal in many countries, even where traditional betting and casino-style gambling is outlawed. The EGBA predicts a rise in lotteries' share of overall gaming online, from 2.3% in.

Is Sports Gambling Legal In Thailand

Gambling in Southeast Asia is really taking off over the last few years, with even more countries getting ready to get in on all the action. Thailand is not one of them though, and they remain firm in their opposition to gambling in general.

  • Gambling on Muay Thai is very popular as is football betting, card games and even cock-fight wagers. In short it is best explained by saying most of Thailand loves to gamble. Legal Gambling in Thailand. In Thailand we have only two forms of gambling that are exempt from the laws mentioned in this article.
  • However, despite the gambling activities ban, gambling is flourishing in the country. Gambling in Thailand - Wikipedia Gambling in Thailand - Wikipedia Thailand Gambling Law - Legal Forms of Brick and Mortar Casinos Thailand Online Gambling Law - Legality in Thailand - Gambling Sites Online Gambling in Thailand - History & Laws Simon's Guide to Gambling in Thailand – Simon's Online.

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 let the black market make all of the money off of this.

Betting on horse racing is also permitted at two Bangkok race tracks which are also exempt from this law. These tracks are said to be frequented mostly by Bangkok high society and doesn’t’ really amount to that much as far as the overall amount of money that the Thai spend on gambling, as opposed to the lottery which is widely popular and also reaches into every corner of Thailand. (1)

Other than that, all other forms of gambling are illegal, under the Thailand Gambling Act of 1935. (2) This law prohibits all gambling not specifically authorized by law. The government hasn’t been too eager to authorize very much either.

There are other countries in Asia which have very strict anti-gambling laws, as well as countries elsewhere in the world, but a couple of things really stand out where Thailand is concerned, that really separate them from the pack here.

The first is the zeal that the government pursues gambling. While the penalties handed out aren‘t generally that severe, ranging from 500 to 5000 baht (about $15 to $150), and people found gambling are usually just fined, depending on the severity of the gambling, it also can carry up to 3 years imprisonment. The harsher penalties are generally reserved for organizers of the games though.

These laws apply to foreigners as well, and the authorities have been known to throw them in jail awaiting deportation, and deportation is often the response here in addition to fines, although if the offense is minor sometimes immigration officials will waive deportation. (3)

Foreigners and especially tourists charged with gambling can find themselves pretty intimidated though and often welcome a fine and deportation rather than facing more rigorous prosecution through the Thai justice system, so they very often plead guilty rather than having to post a long term bail bond, or if unable, serving several months in jail awaiting trial, and in either case having their stay perhaps extended far beyond what was anticipated.

There are over 50,000 arrests a year for gambling in Thailand, a huge amount, and anti gambling laws here aren’t just given lip service or exist primarily on paper only, like in a lot of places. The government is very serious about cracking down on it, and they take a very proactive approach to it as well, for instance having government agents spy on people, or set up gambling operations to entrap them. This is much more like a war on drugs than it is just looking to keep the peace, but the war here is on gambling.

Playing Poker In Thailand

2020

The other distinguishing feature of gambling in Thailand is that in spite of these strict laws and great efforts to enforce them, illegal gambling in Thailand is very rampant, and that’s even an understatement.

To give you an idea of how big the black market for gambling is here, they do have a legal national lottery, but there’s also a black market lotteries here, and black market lotteries are said to be even bigger than the official, legal one. The black market versions are said to offer better odds and that is why people find them more appealing.

The main reason why black market gambling is so big in Thailand though is that the Thai people have a voracious appetite for gambling, and 70% of the people here are regular gamblers, a huge amount. When you throw that up against the very limited amount of legal gambling, well there’s going to be a lot of illegal gambling going on, and indeed, the underground gambling market here is a very large one, in the billions per year. People very often will also travel to neighboring countries, especially Cambodia, where several casinos are set up along the border with Thailand specifically for this. (4)

In addition to this, underground casinos are said to be everywhere, although they do concentrate on casino games, and there isn’t much poker around within the underground scene, other than in home games, where you have to know the host to be invited. (5)

Playing poker for money is against the law of course, and while it’s not illegal to be in possession of a deck of cards, it is illegal to produce or import playing cards, under the Playing Cards Act of 1943. (6) This is designed to slow down card games for money, but nothing slows down gambling here very much.

While simply playing a game with cards isn’t illegal, the presumption will be that if you are doing this then you are gambling, unless you are playing a game like bridge at a licensed bridge club, but it is true that given the penchant for gambling here, if cards are being played, money is probably changing hands as well.

Online Gambling in Thailand

It’s also forbidden to gamble online in Thailand, including playing online poker, but if the strict laws aren’t that effective in slowing down land based gambling, where there is a real risk of arrest, then online poker players here aren’t going to be too put out by the fact online poker is against the law here as well, especially since it’s very difficult to catch people doing this.

Given that the government here isn’t shy to enforce anti gambling laws, it’s not a surprise that they look to block people from accessing online gambling sites and online poker sites, as the government does in several other countries.

The actions of the government here isn’t just limited to this though, as they are particularly eager to prevent gambling in this country, and for those who do wish to play online poker, special care is advised, for instance you don’t want to be using a Thai credit card and also be found to be accessing online poker sites through a Thai ISP, and the government is known here to go to extremes to try to catch gamblers and even though it’s much more difficult to do so with online poker, they are still on the case here.

So this is a case where it’s a good idea to use a proxy to connect to online poker sites, even when playing, such as a virtual private network, and it’s also a good idea to use an internet wallet located in another country to move money in and out of these sites.

So there are a lot of online poker players in Thailand who enjoy online poker and with a little caution many feel pretty safe doing so. One of my top recommendations would probably be BetOnline Poker & Casino, which accepts players from almost EVERY location in the world minus the United States and several other countries.

References:

1. Online Gambling Sites in Thailand

2. Thailand Gambling Act

3. The Dangers of Gambling in Thailand

4. Thailand Gambling

5. Q&A With a Poker Player in Thailand

Gambling

6. Playing Cards Act of 1943

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In Thailand there are no legal land based casinos. These were banned under the Gambling Act 2478 (1935). Under this law, the Thai National Lottery and Horse Race Betting are the only forms of legal gambling. Although unlawful gambling carries a fine of 1,000 Baht, up to 1-year in prison, and can result in cash used for gambling being seized, this has done little to stop its popularity amongst Thais.

All over the country casino games are played. It is done at almost every funeral in the Northeast and in underground casinos located in homes, apartments and even rented office space However it is strongly advised not to engage in any form of gambling whilst in Thailand.

If you want a flutter then the best option is to visit a neighbouring country where gambling is legal. The options are:

Cambodia Casinos

There are several Thailand to Cambodia border crossings and every single one of them has a number of gambling options.

Bangkok to Cambodia: For those in the Bangkok region looking to gamble, the place to head is Aranyaprathet district in the province of Sa Kaeo Depending where you live in Bangkok, and on the traffic that day, this is around a 2.5 to 3 hour drive (maybe less). Here you cross into Poipet which is the most popular destination for Thai nationals. While there is an entire strip of casinos here, if you’re also interested in sports betting, Crown Casino is the best. They have been licensed and operating from Poipet since 1999.

Trat and Koh Chang to Cambodia: If you are based in or near Trat, or are visiting Ko Chang, and want to gamble, the border to head to is the Cham Yeam crossing. This connects Hat Lek of Thailand with Ko Kong of Cambodia. Once over the border you can’t miss the big casino.

Surin to Cambodia: If you are in Surin and want to gamble, the crossing to head to is the one that connects Chong Jom, Thailand with O Smach. This is a hugely popular crossing with Thai gamblers. In fact, you don’t see many farang or tourists at this crossing, just gamblers. There’s not much there on the Cambodia side other than hotel-casinos. If you’re going there for tourism and sight-seeing, you will need to continue 35 km north to Samraong, or a couple hours to Siem Reap.

Si Saket to Cambodia: This is not a popular border crossing for anyone other than locals. The town you’re traveling into is Anlong Veng. Some irony involved here: Communist revolutionary Pol Pot who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998 once said a casino would exist in this city over his dead body. Well this came true. Not too far from his final resting point you can find Anlong Veng’s first casino.

Chanthaburi to Cambodia: From Chanthaburi there are two border options. One is about an hour bus ride away to Ban Pakard District where the border crossing is to Phsa Prum. Between the two checkpoints the road is very remote. As you near the city (about 1 km from it) you’ll find the 7-Story Crown Diamond Casino and Hotel and a little further is the Victoria Casino Hotel.

The other border is not used much. It connects Ban Laem in Phetchaburi Province with Daun Lem. Here you will find only a small outpost casino.

Thailand to Phnom Penh: The Mecca of gambling in Cambodia is not near a Thai border. It is their capital city Phnom Penh. The top place to visit in Phnom Penh is Nagaworld.

Laos Casinos

The best option for Thais to visit in Laos is no doubt Savan Vegas. . This is a Las Vegas style casino with its own VIP rewards card program, a nice hotel, plenty of slots, table games, and a sportsbook offering football betting.

Savan Vegas is located in the Savannakhet Province of Laos. The border crossing to here is in Thailand’s Mukdahan Province. While it's a bit of a trip, this is the only legit Las Vegas place to gamble within driving distance of Udon Thani and Khon Kaen. It is also a decent option for Ubon Ratchathani residents. For those living outside the general vicinity of these mentioned provinces, it is not too convenient a location. To get here from Bangkok the best way is an AirAsia flight from Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport (DMK) to Nakhon Phanom. From here it is a 90-110 minute bus ride to Mukdahan.

There is another Las Vegas style casino in Laos that is not near a Thai border. This is Dansavanh Nam Ngum Resort which mostly targets Vietnamese. If interested in visiting you can search on google.co.th for details. However, unless you have another reason to visit, the effort it would take to get there might be better spent going to Singapore or Malaysia, or if having a higher budget, to Macau