Gambling Law In Thailand

 
Gambling Law In Thailand Rating: 4,5/5 2006 reviews

Thailand’s gambling laws remain among the strictest on earth. The Thai government placed a full ban on almost all gambling activities in the country, with two exceptions: the state lottery and horse racing. Despite the country’s strict gambling ban, the gambling rate in Thailand is on the rise. Thailand has quite strict gambling laws but still remains extensively popular throughout the country both offline and online, although technically illegal in most cases. Check out the legal situation below, starting with the key info you need to know regarding the law, and find out which betting sites accept Thai players online.

Brick and Mortar Gambling Law in Thailand

Our National Lottery is the only form of legal gambling that most people in Thailand have access to. This began in 1974. Today drawings are held on first and sixteenth day of every month. I will conclude this article by discussing how obsessed people are with this lottery. First I provide full details about how it all works including buying tickets and the money prizes.

Buying Thai Lottery

In Thailand lottery tickets are preprinted. All over the country lottery vendors can be found roaming markets, streets and villages. There are also stands outside big shops such as Tesco Lotus and Big C.

The official cost per ticket is 40 baht. However, these are sold in identical packs of two so it is only possible to buy two tickets at 80 baht (which are an exact match of each other). Also the sellers of the tickets charge a markup. As is the case with almost everything in Thailand, lottery prices are negotiable.

With street vendors the asking price might be 120-130 baht for the two tickets that have 40+40=80 baht face value. In stands outside major shops 100 Baht is a common price. Interesting is that vendors who do list prices often do so differently for each ticket. Unpopular numbers cost less (85, 90 and 95 baht) while ones containing lucky Buddhist number combinations cost more.

Thai Lotto Tickets Explained

The image to the right is our standard pack of two matching lottery tickets. For most drawings, all that matters is the six digit number. If you draw that number in exact order you will win prizes the prize for that draw.

So why are there two additional double- digit numbers on the ticket?

The bottom number indicates what of type of ticket it is. As of the time I’m writing this article there are two different jackpots.

For certain batches the top prizes are:

  • 3 million baht for all correct
  • 20 million baht for all correct + 2 digit bonus (0-99) number correct.

For the other batches the top prizes are:

  • 2 million baht for all correct
  • 30 million baht for all correct + 2 digit bonus (0-99) number correct.

The same six digit number (0-9 per slot) applies to both main draws. If you get the exact match, next look at the back of your ticket to see if the prize is 2 million or 3 million. From here there is an extra number (multiplier) drawn separate (0-99) for each. If you have the 2 million paying ticket – and the two digit number drawn for it matches, you get 30 million on that ticket. Because you hold two tickets you will get the 30 million + 2 million. The same for the ticket that pays 3 million: if you match the extra number you will get 20 million more for that portion of your ticket.

No matter which type of ticket you hold if you are one number off in either direction (for example if 223454 is the draw then 223453 and 223455 are 1 number off) you win a consolation prize of 50,000 baht. As you have two identical tickets you actually win 100,000 baht.

Gambling Law In Thailand Currency

The remaining draws use only the six-digit numbers and prizes are as follow:

  • Second Prize = 100,000 Baht per ticket: 5 new six digit numbers are drawn for this and if your six digit number matches any of them you win.
  • Third Prize = 40,000 Baht per ticket: the same as above but here 10 new six digit numbers are drawn.
  • Fourth Prize = 20,000 Baht per ticket: the same with 50 new six digit numbers drawn.
  • Fifth Prize = 10,000 Baht per ticket: the same with 100 new six digit numbers drawn.
  • Last 3 = 2,000 Baht per ticket: Four sets of three numbers are drawn. If the last three digits of you six digit number match any of these four you win this prize.
  • Last 2 = 1,000 Baht per: A separate two digit number is drawn and if your last two is a match you win this prize.

Important Note:for reason that you have two identical tickets for every draw the prizes above are always doubled. The only one that is not is the main 20 million and 30 million jackpots.

Thailand

Finding Thai Lottery Results

The lottery is drawn on the fist and sixteenth of every month. A television show is built around this that starts at 3PM. Towards the end of the show (just before 4PM) the lottery numbers are displayed. If you speak Thai you can also find the results on the official website www.glo.or.th.

How to Claim Lottery Prizes

Winning tickets can be redeemed for their prize at any Provincial Office of the Comptroller General’s Department (CGD). There is one of these in every province (3 in Bangkok). The tax is 0.5% of winnings. It is possible to redeem at shops though the fee is higher, about 2% is a typical price to negotiate to.

Thai People Love Lottery

Understand the lottery covered on this page is extremely popular. Especially so in rural areas where folk beliefs and Chinese religions have integrated with Buddhism – the ideas of spirits, ghosts, and dreams producing winning numbers is such a phenomenon here that in 2013 it was written about in the New York Times. It is also discussed inthis ThaiVisa thread.

Gambling Law In Thailand China

In Thai temples there are bamboo sticks in tubes that visitors shake until one falls out. The stick that falls out has a number on it that corresponds with lottery poetry located on the wall. These include lucky numbers for playing the lottery. Enter เซียมซี into a Google image search might help you understand. Also, Prapheni Bun Bang Fai (ประเพณีบุญบั้งไฟ) is an annual merit-making ceremony practiced by ethnic-Loa people (such as my wife and her family) that live in Thailand. It involves large black-powder rockets. Those who attend watch the smoke in hopes of seeing lottery numbers appear in the trails.

My license plate number once had the winning numbers. At least half-a-dozen strangers stopped to point this out after the draw, most of them asking if I played. Seeing as I was lucky questions about my dreams and such followed in several conversations. The fact even days after the draw people remember and see past drawings appearing in places tells how popular this is.

Illegal Lottery in Thailand

As popular as our main lottery is the illegal lotto. In most every province there is at least one person running books that offers better odds than the legal lotto. These use the exact same six-number draw as the National Lottery. While very few are honest about what it costs and the odds, for the benefit of farang who wish to know:

  • Last Two Exact – for every 12 baht wagered the winnings are 1,000 baht.
  • Last Three Exact – for every 1 baht wager the winnings are 500 baht.
  • Last Three Any Order – for every 1 baht wagered the winnings are 90 baht

Understand the illegal lottery is a nationwide syndicate. While some sellers might charge more, or some might run books independent of this crime syndicate (thus charging more or less) the above are the standard odds for our illegal lottery.

1 2 Next:Thailands Online Sport Betting Law Explained

Gambling law in thailand myanmar
King Norodom Sihamoni has promulgated a long-awaited gambling law that aims to create jobs, boost the economy and bolster tourism as well as establish safeguards against money laundering and corruption.

The law, which will dictate how casinos and gambling operators conduct business, has 12 chapters and 97 articles. It was passed by the National Assembly on October 5 and endorsed by the Senate on October 26.

The law was written to manage commercial gaming centres, like casinos, and all commercial gaming activities in the Kingdom. Article 1 of the law maintains that it will help protect social safety and security as well as boost the economy and generate tax revenue.

Called the Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling (LMCG), the law sets forth the authority and procedures for managing commercial gaming and the rights and duties of individuals and entities that own and operate gaming businesses.

Article 4 states that a Cambodia Commercial Games Committee (CCGC), which consists of 11 members from different ministries and chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance, will govern the gaming sector, issuing policies and regulations as well as conducting inspections, providing licences and collecting income.

It will also be charged with taking action against those commercial game operators who break the law.

The law lays out the responsibilities that gaming operators must honour in the fight against money laundering, bribery, corruption and the financing of terrorism. Gaming operators must keep strict accounting records and submit them to the committee for scrutiny.

Article 54 states: “Commercial game operators must have bookkeeping according to the standard accounting, which describes the operation and financial status of its commercial games. Bookkeeping must ensure that financial report preparation is correct with clear dates.

“It must also effectively ease the review, investigation, and auditing on financial reports.”

The law maintains that Cambodians are still not legally allowed to enter casinos.

Article 68 of the law states: “All Cambodian people, including members of the armed forces, public servants and elected officials, are banned from entering casinos or commercial game facilities to gamble.”

The CCGC has the authority to inspect material and record voices from closed-circuit television cameras installed at casinos and other commercial gaming centres. Article 80 bans all automated teller machines, or ATMS, from casinos and commercial gaming centres.

Pech Pisey, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, said establishing a legal framework was just a first step in managing the gambling industry and preventing money laundering. He said Cambodia still faces significant gaps in law enforcement and lacks of effective mechanisms to enforce the law.

“Corruption in Cambodia remains widespread. And corruption remains an enabling factor behind the problems around money laundering, which continues to undermine the rule of law in Cambodia,” he said.

Hong Vannak, an economic researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said most countries allow casinos and integrated commercial games. The sector helps their economy by reducing the outflow of money and attracting income to the country through tourism, he said.

Vannak said the impact of commercial and integrated gaming was more positive than negative, citing the tax generated for the state and jobs created. He continued that demand from casinos and commercial game centres would help Cambodia’s agricultural sector in addition to boosting real estate.

But he also cautioned against the negative aspects of commercial gaming, especially if Cambodians are allowed to gamble.

“In short, we see more positive than negative if we can control this sector. If we cannot control it, the negative aspect will come out. That’s why some countries have many policies to allow just a specific number [of casinos] at specific locations.

“Cambodia established the area along the borders for building casinos and allows some in Phnom Penh. This is another strategy to control the sector,” he said.