The country is known for its strict anti-gambling bills and laws since they follow policies of other South East Asian countries. It usually maintains a ban on some of the most prominent wagering activities in the industry. But there is always an exception to the rule. The country allowed State Lottery, as well as horse racing bets. Horse race betting is the only kind of sports betting activity that is available in Thailand as of today.
Overview
The gambling laws in Thailand are pretty strict. Local gamblers are only permitted to bet on horse racing and the National Lottery legally. Currently, other forms of gambling are illegal in the country, including sports betting, bingo, poker and casino games. Cockfighting and bullfighting are also popular among Thais, but they are not legal in the country.
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But despite all the gambling activity bans, betting and wagering in Thailand are still flourishing. It has become one of the most significant industry, especially the one that is operating under the government’s radar.
The revenue from this industry has generated more or less $6 billion annually. Whether wagering operations are banned or not, the sector remains very attractive to a lot of local residents, who are willing to play, bet or take advantage of the web and land-based opportunities, no matter how large or small the industry is. This type of activity is pretty risky since local bookmakers or “bookies” are known for generating excellent wins on the back of gamblers, especially if there are no regulators to turn to.
The National Lottery is one of the primary forms of gambling activity that is legal in the country. It started in 2003, mostly because of the fact that there had been a sizeable under-the-radar lottery system operating in the country. The Thai government is looking for a way to drive these underground practices out by designing a lottery system that is appropriately sanctioned and regulated by government agencies.
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The Thai Lottery Office organizes the country’s National Lottery. They sell two-digit and three-digit lottery tickets to local citizens. The lotto ticket sales fell under the attack of the National Legislative Assembly. They tried to make lottery illegal in 2006. But even the lottery is legalized, there’s no guarantee that there will be no illegal activity happening.
For instance, three years after it was authorized, Thailand’s Prime Minister and other government officials were accused of skimming at least $1 billion from state lottery revenues. As of today, the government still doesn’t have provisions for online gambling.
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Online gambling
Digital betting in the country still has no specific laws; it means they still fall under common cases and still considered illegal. There are still no licenses for hosting a wagering site or digital casino provided by the government. But despite the ban on web-based betting operations, local gamblers can still use foreign gaming and casino websites to place a bet.
These sites are being hosted in foreign countries, where the government has no jurisdiction. It means that the government has almost nothing to do to prevent bettors from using these online gambling sites hosted in other countries.
Despite the Thai government’s measures, the anti-gambling policy is solely focused on land-based wagering operations because of the fact that they are easier to monitor. Not only that, but there is also a lot of international casinos, gambling and sports betting websites that accept local players, which makes it very impossible for local law enforcers to keep an eye on these players continually.
Sports betting is also pretty big in the country, whether it is football (soccer for our North Americans and Australian brothers and sisters reading this article), volleyball, boxing, Muay Thai or horse racing. Horse race betting is prominent in the country, and they are legal in the country. Online sports betting is also licensed as long as the website is based in other countries. Sports betting in Thailand is pretty serious, just make sure to use Asian bookies or UK bookmakers to place your bet, since the government has no jurisdiction in these types of websites. Getting your winnings of these sites is also pretty easy since they can connect your online account to Thai-based banks for easier transactions.
