National—
On March 31st, 2024, Ms. Kanika Aunjit, the deputy government spokeswoman, stated to the public regarding a government policy to tackle online gambling websites as major economic crimes.
According to the deputy government spokeswoman, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin realized the issues of online gambling as economic crimes. The Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) gave importance to investigating, suspending, restricting, and blocking online gambling websites nationwide.
The cybercrimes caused widespread damage including identity theft, youth access, and damages to both Thai economy and society.
From October 1st, 2023 to March 5th, 2024, the DES could suspend inappropriate information on online platforms of more than 60,681 units and block more than 25,571 online gambling-related websites.
According to the Gambling Act, those who hosted gambling rings were subjected to imprisonment of 1 to 10 years and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 baht, or both. The players who invited others to the gambling activities were subjected to imprisonment of less than 2 years and a fine of 2,000, or both.
The Thai government stated its concerns to Thai citizens not to be tempted by making profits from online gambling websites or exaggerated advertisements for investment, remarked Kanika.
