Online Gambling Legal In Thailand
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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.
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.
A 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.
Editorial
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.
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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.
Online Gambling Legal In Thailand Today
Onlinecasino bonuses draw in Thai punters
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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.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Thailand
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.
Is Online Gambling Illegal In Thailand
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.
Online Gambling Legal In Thailand Now
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.