Underground Gambling in Thailand Persists Despite Raids

In the early hours of the morning of November 2, three police teams raided a second-floor room of the luxury Encore Hotel in Pattaya, Thailand. The operation was aimed at a suspected underground gambling operation – Thai gambling laws forbids nearly all forms of gambling, with the exception of horse racing and the national lottery. The first team of officers to enter the hotel wore plain clothes; they investigated the hallway leading to a room where an alleged illegal gambling ring was operating. The officers found hotel patrons wandering in and out of the room in question, and saw hotel staff guarding the door.

Police first arrested the hotel owner, a Thai woman who is being charged with permitting illegal gambling operations to take place in her hotel. Police then entered the room and found an illegal poker game in progress. The players attempted to escape, but all were apprehended. The raid ended in 11 arrests – five Finns, two Swedes, one Israeli who were participating in the poker game were detained, along with three Thai women, including the hotel owner and two women who were serving drinks to the gamblers. About 2 million baht (€40,500) were confiscated, along with cards, chips, and other poker paraphernalia.

Despite raids such as this one, underground gambling operations in Thailand persist. Poker and other forms of gambling are illegal in the country, but it has been estimated that as much as 70% of the adult population in the country continues to gamble. While many players frequent underground casinos and other illegal gambling dens, some choose instead to cross the border into Cambodia, where they can gamble legally at any of several large casinos near the Cambodia-Thailand border.

Other gamblers choose to play online poker in Thailand. Online gambling is frowned upon by the Thai government, but little is done to prevent players from visiting the dozens of online poker sites that are hosted in other countries. Some of these international gambling sites even offer Thai languages services and accept wagers in Thai bahts. Unless changes are made to Thai gambling laws, online gambling sites in Thailand are the best option for local players who wish to enjoy poker and other casino games.