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Dave The Dude
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CRIMINAL LAW IN THAILAND Part 67: Gambling
We've had a lot of questions about the legalities of gambling in Thailand. A short series beginning with this article should help clear the air.
Thailand has a law dedicated to the regulation and prohibition of gambling and gaming called the Gambling Act, BE 2478 (1935). The act divides all kinds of gambling and games of chance into two categories; List A and List B. Under the first category are gambling games and activities including betting in connection with street games such as gum tud (guessing how many seeds are in both hands) and certain Thai dice games.
Also included on List A is betting on contests between animals in which they are treated cruelly or tortured. An example of this kind of game would be cockfighting in which spurs or other sharp instruments are attached to the cocks' legs. Another example would be dog fighting. Certain casino games, such as roulette and slot machines are also included on List A.
List A games cannot be made legal by ministerial regulations; only a royal decree can accomplish this. Royal decrees are seldom granted in connection with List A games. Since the issuance of the act in 1935 there has only been one such royal decree related to it, issued the same year as the act.
The second category of gambling games and activities are those on List B. This list includes many conventional games such as snooker, mahjong, bingo and contests between animals that are not considered cruel or torturous, such as horse racing and cock fighting without spurs. Some casino games such as blackjack are on List B. Also included in List B are lotteries, raffles and sweepstakes.
Games on list B may be legally licensed on an individual basis. Under Ministerial Regulation No17, BE 2503 (1960) a licence may be granted in Bangkok by a commissioned police officer with the rank of inspector or higher. Elsewhere in the country licences may be granted by a police district chief or an assistant district chief who is a chief officer of a subdistrict.
The proper officials may also issue regulations that allow certain kinds of gambling, as long as they are not on List A. This kind of regulation could be issued for a game on List B or even for a kind of game listed on neither list. If such a regulation is issued, an individual licence isn't needed.
What are the penalties for engaging in illegal gambling? Section 12 of the act provides that if the gambling activity is not allowed by licence or regulation as described above, both the organiser and the gambler are subject to the following penalties:
- If the game is among items one to 16 on List A or is a raffle, the jail term is up to three years and the fine is up to 5,000 baht. Included in this list are the activities mentioned as examples of List A games above.
- For any other game mentioned in the act, including including everything else on List A and practically everything on List B except raffles, the penalty is up to a two-year jail term and a fine of up to 2,000 baht.
- For gambling activities not specifically mentioned on List A or List B of the act, such as betting on sports, the maximum punishment is a jail term of one year and a fine of up to 1,000 baht.
Next time we'll talk about other gambling issues, including casinos and lotteries.
- Published: 13/11/2011 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Spectrum
We've had a lot of questions about the legalities of gambling in Thailand. A short series beginning with this article should help clear the air.
Thailand has a law dedicated to the regulation and prohibition of gambling and gaming called the Gambling Act, BE 2478 (1935). The act divides all kinds of gambling and games of chance into two categories; List A and List B. Under the first category are gambling games and activities including betting in connection with street games such as gum tud (guessing how many seeds are in both hands) and certain Thai dice games.
Also included on List A is betting on contests between animals in which they are treated cruelly or tortured. An example of this kind of game would be cockfighting in which spurs or other sharp instruments are attached to the cocks' legs. Another example would be dog fighting. Certain casino games, such as roulette and slot machines are also included on List A.
List A games cannot be made legal by ministerial regulations; only a royal decree can accomplish this. Royal decrees are seldom granted in connection with List A games. Since the issuance of the act in 1935 there has only been one such royal decree related to it, issued the same year as the act.
The second category of gambling games and activities are those on List B. This list includes many conventional games such as snooker, mahjong, bingo and contests between animals that are not considered cruel or torturous, such as horse racing and cock fighting without spurs. Some casino games such as blackjack are on List B. Also included in List B are lotteries, raffles and sweepstakes.
Games on list B may be legally licensed on an individual basis. Under Ministerial Regulation No17, BE 2503 (1960) a licence may be granted in Bangkok by a commissioned police officer with the rank of inspector or higher. Elsewhere in the country licences may be granted by a police district chief or an assistant district chief who is a chief officer of a subdistrict.
The proper officials may also issue regulations that allow certain kinds of gambling, as long as they are not on List A. This kind of regulation could be issued for a game on List B or even for a kind of game listed on neither list. If such a regulation is issued, an individual licence isn't needed.
What are the penalties for engaging in illegal gambling? Section 12 of the act provides that if the gambling activity is not allowed by licence or regulation as described above, both the organiser and the gambler are subject to the following penalties:
- If the game is among items one to 16 on List A or is a raffle, the jail term is up to three years and the fine is up to 5,000 baht. Included in this list are the activities mentioned as examples of List A games above.
- For any other game mentioned in the act, including including everything else on List A and practically everything on List B except raffles, the penalty is up to a two-year jail term and a fine of up to 2,000 baht.
- For gambling activities not specifically mentioned on List A or List B of the act, such as betting on sports, the maximum punishment is a jail term of one year and a fine of up to 1,000 baht.
Next time we'll talk about other gambling issues, including casinos and lotteries.