A key politician in Thailand has revealed he was offered a bribe to turn a blind eye to illegal gambling operations in the country.
Reported by the Pattaya Mail, Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Minister, Chaichanok Chidchob, was offered 40m baht (£910,390) to halt enforcement action on illegal gambling platforms and call centre scams.
These revelations form part of a wider crackdown by authorities in Thailand on online gaming and money laundering platforms.
The Ministry of Justice has reported the arrests of 52 suspects with links to multiple online gambling websites.
In addition, the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) took down two platforms with financial transactions estimated at 2bn baht (£45.5m). Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) also arrested 49 individuals related to online gambling sites believed to generate over 17bn (£386.9m) baht annually.
Authorities have not yet established if any of the individuals arrested are linked to the bribery attempt.
Thriving black market
Thailand’s laws surrounding gambling remain strict, with horse racing and the official State Lottery the only two forms of gambling allowed
However, news of the arrests and vast sums generated by the online gaming websites further highlights the desire of Thai citizens to engage with gambling. According to a recent report, over 34.5 million Thais participate in gambling, whether through the black market or the state lottery, and Thailand’s illegal gaming market is worth 1.1trn baht (£22.8bn) annually.
The report also notes that 61% of the money generated from the sector is funnelled out of the country. A fact that will no doubt concern the Thai government as it seeks to grow Thailand’s developing economy amid global financial headwinds.
Earlier this year, a push to legalise land-based gaming as part of integrated resorts was withdrawn due to political turmoil, which eventually led to the ousting of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Her replacement, Anutin Charnvirakul, has been firm in his opposition to the sector.
He previously told local media: “If someone says gambling can stimulate the economy, I’d say wait for another prime minister.
“Don’t wait for me, as I don’t agree with this approach. While I was the interior minister, I also said poker shouldn’t be allowed. But once I left, they went ahead with it. We must bring righteousness and justice back to our nation.”
Although the outlook appears to be anything but bright, industry voices suggest that the economic uplift that regulated gaming could provide Thailand may be too significant for the government to ignore.
Before its withdrawal, Thailand’s Ministry of Finance projected that the introduction of integrated resorts in several key tourist hotspots would generate 120 to 240 billion baht per year in revenue through increased tourism, and each venue would return between 12m and 40m baht in tax annually.
