The World Cup - that kicked off last night at 11 pm Thai time - followed predictable two-faced territory yesterday when it came to gambling.

 

As Thais prepared to wager billions of baht on the 64 matches the RTP chief warned them of long jail terms for adding to the fun with a flutter. 

 

General Damrongsak Kittipraphat - the Royal Thai Police commander -  said a tech cop command center had been set up to deal with the problem of gambling. 

 

This is at the behest of Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha who is particularly concerned for young people who might be lured into betting, reported Thai Rath.

 

So he had instructed his tech cop deputy chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukhwimon to take action.

 

Three numbers were announced so that Thais could report each other - call 1441, 191, or 1599 24/7 if you spot gambling. 

 

Damrongsak - Big Den in the media - mentioned 1-10 year jail terms and fines of up to 100,000 baht for people with online operations exceeding 5 million baht in turnover.

 

But individual gamblers will not be immune from prosecution - everyone is fair game in gambling mad Thailand where such activity is illegal. 

 

Meanwhile ASEAN NOW checked out the official FIFA app for Qatar 2022 for phones.

 

 

In the "where to watch in...." section Thailand had been left out completely.

 

But at least people in Thailand will be able to watch the 29 day extravaganza on free to air and subscription TV (True) after several corporations stepped in to get a last minute cut-price deal. 

 

After all, a flutter on the matches is so much more fun when you can get to watch the game......

 

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The fiasco of showing this tainted world cup on free to air TV defies logic.

Gambling is illegal.

Millions of Thais watching world cup matches will gamble on them.

Gambling would be drastically reduced if the matches were not shown.

I wonder how many committees Cha-Cha chaired to arrive at this decree which will be totally ignored in exchange for brown envelopes.

Thailand's feudalism a la 2565.????????

44 minutes ago, webfact said:

everyone is fair game in gambling mad Thailand where such activity is illegal. 

I'll bet they only catch a few!

When will these authoritarian clowns grasp that "long jail terms" don't work. I guess when the PM is a self-serving imbecile there is not a lot of room to move.

For once, it'll be a lot easier to publish what IS ALLOWED to partake in Thailand than coming up everyday what what is not allowed to which lengthy jail terms awaits the offenders...

So spending a few hundred baht on a World Cup match to see if you get lucky is different than spending a few hundred baht on a bar girl to also see if you get lucky is different in the eyes of the RPT. Hmmmmm.....

 

You are a sure winner with the bar girl so avoid the World Cup and potential jail time.

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

The fiasco of showing this tainted world cup on free to air TV defies logic.

Gambling is illegal.

Millions of Thais watching world cup matches will gamble on them.

Gambling would be drastically reduced if the matches were not shown.

I'm sure they were gambling on whether matches would be shown or not...

3 hours ago, webfact said:

This is at the behest of Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha who is particularly concerned for young people who might be lured into betting

Not drugs then, or alcohol, or prostitution, or illegal guns, or gangs, or a lack of education, or atrocious AQ damaging their health, or the second highest death rate on the roads, or or or or .......but having a flutter!!!!!

At least they aren't arresting pensioner Farangs playing bridge????

5 hours ago, webfact said:

call 1441, 191, or 1599 24/7 if you spot gambling

Oh look, lottery numbers!

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Not drugs then, or alcohol, or prostitution, or illegal guns, or gangs, or a lack of education, or atrocious AQ damaging their health, or the second highest death rate on the roads, or or or or .......but having a flutter!!!!!

Bizarre isnt it. Or dodgy lawyers or scammers at train station or tuk tuk drivers conning people.

 

 

Doesn't Thailand literally have a monthly lottery

You will never drive out gambling....the illegal bookies are all over Thailand whether it's within the creaking Government Lottery or Muay Thai or indeed the World Cup.Far better to regulate and tax accordingly and let folk spend their money and have their fun how they wish.SE Asia is the world's gambling hub and Thailand cannot shore up their insular and medieval ideas...you can't stop it....so embrace it and cut out the organised crime

 

 

 

 

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

For once, it'll be a lot easier to publish what IS ALLOWED to partake in Thailand than coming up everyday what what is not allowed to which lengthy jail terms awaits the offenders...

Correct. Basically, almost everything is illegal but at the same time almost nothing is enforced. Most of the people can get away with most of the things most of the time. I suppose it's a system of sorts.

How about the novel idea of legal controlled gambling?  In UK Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs collected £2.9 billion in gaming-related duty in the 2017-18 fiscal year alone

5 hours ago, biggles45 said:

At least they aren't arresting pensioner Farangs playing bridge????

Well remember. 

1 hour ago, w94005m said:

How about the novel idea of legal controlled gambling?  In UK Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs collected £2.9 billion in gaming-related duty in the 2017-18 fiscal year alone

Too logical. These tuk tuk scammers pinch 300 to 1000 baht a day. How is a 300 baht bet on football worth 5 years jail?

 

 

Leave the Gamblers alone; let them have their flutter! Let them free to lose if they want to! What is the great problem? They are going to bet whether you go after them or not! You will be telling them next they aren't allowed alcohol while watching the football!

 

Make the World Cup the exception, only every 4 years!

 

 

 

 

But the lottery is OK?

Anything, absolutely anything to avoid the practice of real crime fighting. Why is it that these guys always miss the mark, do the wrong thing and miss the point, entirely? 

I'll give 2 to 1 they'll accumulate a wedge of bungs with this policy .

 

11 hours ago, JesseHumphry said:

Doesn't Thailand literally have a monthly lottery

Twice monthly 

The 2010 world cost me 100,000B when my travel agent scammed me to either place a bet or to pay off her debt for earlier losses.
Victims of such actions extend well beyond the gambling individual and their families. You won’t stop it but be very wary of where you park any large sum of money during this time of World Cup football.  

Hmmm…. This means the police are actually doing something. Lock up those pesky gamblers. Wonders will never cease. I will nip out and get a Thai lottery ticket to celebrate.

15 hours ago, biggles45 said:

At least they aren't arresting pensioner Farangs playing bridge????

Well, not yet.

3 hours ago, chrisbangkok said:

I'll give 2 to 1 they'll accumulate a wedge of bungs with this policy .

 

I decline your offer. That would be considered gambling and well.......

 

When will the irony and hypocrisy hit these numbskulls. I see thousands of Baht pass hands every week for the Thai Lottery, which no matter how the Government tries to rename it, is GAMBLING. 

There is only one reason for this latest draconian law in the Hub of draconian laws. That is to help the BIB replenish funds lost during the Covid idiocy.

22 hours ago, webfact said:

General Damrongsak Kittipraphat - the Royal Thai Police commander -  said a tech cop command center had been set up to deal with the problem of gambling.

And how to benefit from it?

What's the odds on him becoming richer by the end of the tournament ????