Should legalizing gambling and police reform go hand in hand?

[webfact]

 

The latest allegations about the involvement of some senior policemen in online gambling operations have sparked a debate on the urgent need for reform of the police force.

 

A series of embarrassing news in recent months about corruption has seriously dented the image of the Royal Thai Police.

 

Cyber-police officers on September 24 conducted a search at the house of Deputy National Police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn after securing search warrants for eight members of his team in connection with alleged online gambling.

 

The  police also raided many homes of the suspects and issued arrest warrants for another 15 people allegedly involved in running illegal online gambling operations.

 

The incident also raised questions on whether it would be more appropriate for the government to legalize gambling for the sake of better management of this activity and to earn more government tax revenue.

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-09-28

 

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[Trippy]

Anybody that wants to gamble will find a way. Better to have legalized taxed, mafia-free, places to play instead of going underground or online. 

Plus if it's done right, casinos will bring in a lot more tourist money, and good paying jobs.

[klauskunkel]

Quote

Should legalizing gambling and police reform go hand in hand?

The RTP would like this type of reform:

It will be legal for the RTP to run illegal gambling sites

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

A series of embarrassing news in recent months about corruption has seriously dented the image of the Royal Thai Police.

Which will continue as normal...

[2baht]

Should legalizing gambling and police reform go hand in hand?

 

Why not, I would think anything is worth a try, but they are not too adept to change!

[zzaa09]

Either will truly come about.

[dinsdale]

I've played many a game of Hi-Lo with the BIB. Gabmbling is rife in Thailand what ever you define gabling as. Every village in Thailand at any time of the day will have a cards game going on. Might only be low stakes but it happens and it's illegal. Not sure what this has to do with the endemic corruption in the the BIB from the massive corruption at the highest levels to the low level corruption at the lowest levels. By the way talking about high level corruption (and criminal activity beyond corruption) in the BIB, what ever happened to 'Joe Farrari'? 

[Maybole]

Making a vice illegal only drives it underground. This results in further abuses. Legalizing and strict enforcement of laws reduces crime considerably.

As an aside, every Friday night in a room behind our village shop a card school convenes and is ignored by all.

[Middle Aged Grouch]

Legalize it but highly put tax on the casinos and make them controled by the authorities to avoid tax evasion. Use part of the tax to dispense due therapy or social aid to the addicts who always will end up loosing their lives. Many rich people all over the world have ended up paupers in the streets due to their gambling addiction. But keeping it illegal will just continue to feed corruption and make the fortunes of mafias and top level people of power,  getting their commissions under the table. So obviously, it will never get legal as there is far to much money to make in maintaining it illegal. But the government is loosing billions in tax money.

[jacko45k]

19 hours ago, Trippy said:

Anybody that wants to gamble will find a way. Better to have legalized taxed, mafia-free, places to play instead of going underground or online. 

Plus if it's done right, casinos will bring in a lot more tourist money, and good paying jobs.

Maybe they don't need it. Are things so great in Las Vegas because of OTT gambling, or would we say they would be truly awful without it?

[mikebell]

'Should legalizing gambling and police reform go hand in hand?' 

If gambling (and drugs) were legalised, there would be no need to reform the police; this/these are the mainsprings of corruption within their ranks.

[Trippy]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Maybe they don't need it. Are things so great in Las Vegas because of OTT gambling, or would we say they would be truly awful without it?

Maybe you don't need it, but to the 940,000 people employed in Las Vegas, they need the casinos to pay their bills.

So yes, to them it would be truly awful without the casinos.

 

https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/las-vegas-metro-area-employment-up-21-4-percent-over-the-year-ended-may-2021.htm#:~:text=The number of people employed,2021%2C an increase of 165%2C800.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Trippy