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Bangkok Officials Raid Illegal Gambling Dens, Arrest 100+

Georgealbert
· 130 views

Authorities in Bangkok have raided two illegal gambling dens in the Hathai Rat and Seri Thai areas, arresting more than 100 gamblers and seizing cash and equipment worth millions of baht. The operation, carried out on 25 April by a special task force from the Department of Provincial Administration, targeted organised gambling operations running in concealed warehouse-style venues.

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The first raid took place at a development on Hathai Rat Road in Sam Wa Tawan Tok, Khlong Sam Wa district. Officers found 63 gamblers inside, comprising 33 men and 30 women, along with gambling equipment including Thai gambling sets, playing cards, fish shooting arcade machines, and over 300,000 baht in cash. All suspects and evidence were handed over to investigators at Nimit Mai Police Station.

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A second raid at an old petrol station site in Soi Seri Thai 9, Khlong Kum, Bueng Kum district, led to the arrest of 41 individuals, including 21 men and 20 women. Officers seized around 50,000 baht in cash and additional gambling equipment. Those detained were transferred to Bueng Kum Police Station for legal proceedings.

According to Mr Ronnarong Thipsiri, director of the law enforcement operations centre, the Hathai Rat venue had been under surveillance following complaints from local residents. Investigators discovered the property had been rented in November 2025 under the pretext of warehouse storage, before being converted into a gambling den operating around the clock with controlled entry due to limited space.

Mr Ronnarong said the operation was not a typical neighbourhood gambling setup but a well-organised establishment with air conditioning, multiple gambling formats including online betting and a structured system to manage player turnover. Authorities believe the site generated at least 1 million baht in daily circulation.

He added that similar gambling dens exist across Bangkok and the latest raids are intended as a warning to operators. The crackdown aligns with government policy under the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister to intensify enforcement against illegal gambling.

Daily News reported that officials expect the arrests to disrupt local gambling networks and potentially force other operators to shut down. Investigations are ongoing to identify those behind the operations and determine whether further legal action will be taken against property owners or organisers.

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Pictures courtesy of Daily News

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image.png Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 26 Apr 2026

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    Jim Waldron Silver Member

    Jim Waldron

    Advanced Member

    Throw the book at 'em!

    At the very least they infringed the Playing Cards Act (1943). Under this law it is illegal for an individual to possess more than 120 playing cards!

    Apparently, it is a key tool used by Thai authorities to crack down on illegal gambling "dens" by providing a low-threshold reason for arrest even if no cash is found on the table.

    However, it can cause embarrassing moments!

    Back in February 2016, Thai police and military personnel raided the Jomtien and Pattaya Bridge Club, arresting 32 foreign retirees (British, Australian, Swedish, Norwegian, etc.) who were playing duplicate bridge.

    The mostly elderly "criminals" were held for roughly 12 hours, fingerprinted, and released on ฿5,000 bail each.

    However, the charges were later dropped after the President of the Contract Bridge League of Thailand intervened to explain that bridge is a recognized sport and not gambling.

    Gaccha Gold Member

    Gaccha

    Advanced Member
    14 minutes ago, Jim Waldron said:

    the charges were later dropped after the President of the Contract Bridge League of Thailand intervened to explain that bridge is a recognized sport and not gambling

    That's certainly how the newspapers reported it although that is not actually how it works. Unfortunately journalists do tend to get the law wrong since they rarely have studied it in any detail.

    They were charged for possessing unauthorised playing cards (the excise duty had not been paid) of more than 120. This is a strict liability offence. Publicity simply got it dropped, it was not because of a legal distinction between gambling and sports.

    With the entirely separate law on gambling, of which they were never charged, much of it rests on intent to gamble. One defence of this would be to claim that it is a mind game and that chance plays little part in it, which logically makes it less suitable for gambling. But this is a question of fact not law.

    Another defence over the issue of intent would be to point to the tradition of the game as not a game which is usually involved gambling. I certainly saw vague news reports gesturing at this argument. Perhaps these claims were to discourage police from conducting future raids, since it develops a presumption that bridge play is innocent of the intent to gamble.

    Again a lot of the problem here is the news reports of the time were inadequate or simply wrong owing to the journalists having little experience in law.

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