1 hour ago, gravia said:

Insanity reigns again . Now children, do as your told, you can buy it but you must not open it . and god forbid if you drink it. Who are the morrons who come up with these ideas. Must have imported part of the UK goverment

I think they are STARMER related 

Drinkers have no problem with alcohol. .... BUT WITHOUT 🙃

First, I do not consume alcohol, but I see this change absolutely rediculous...fancy fining drinkers, who, in many cases, are unaware of the rules... it's incumbent on the manager/bar staff, to warn drinkers. Oh well, word will get around, I do think this could be detrimental to tourism... But I am not as smart as those who make Thai laws.

 

These alcohol laws are so ridiculous not to mention antiquated. For a so called tourist destination, not being able to purchase alcohol between 2 and 5 is so frustrating, or should I say aggravating. Peak hours for out and about, doing our weekly shopping for us is between these hours. Planning your day to accommodate these laws really sucks. Big time. I understand these policies are to prevent Government workers from buying alcohol during their afternoon work hours. How about controlling  the workers.  

On 11/9/2025 at 5:26 AM, smedly said:

just more confusion, how are customers supposed to know the licencing laws in force for any particular venue especially tourists on a 2 week holiday, this is insane

Or know the time, who, when drinking, checks the time.

5 minutes ago, Chris49 said:

For a so called tourist destination, not being able to purchase alcohol between 2 and 5 is so frustrating, or should I say aggravating

Even more aggravating is when you can indeed buy a pint in the afternoon only to be swooped upon by plod and fined 10,000 baht.

On 11/9/2025 at 3:13 AM, Georgealbert said:

Although licensed entertainment venues, hotels, certified tourist establishments and international airports are exempt,

So remember you would also not be allowed to drink at home!

It's a stupid change but honestly good; if less tourists come Thailand will be better off in the long run. Pretty much everything old timers here complain about (e.g. the decline of the good old days) can be attributed to over-tourism and all the greed that comes with it. 

This is like the weed law first they say OK everything‘s legal shops are opening up people are making money people are investing in it whatever the people are smoking and get it now legally then all of a sudden fast-forward now they wanna change it I need a doctors note maybe it’s only good for three days maybe it’s not good I’m not sure what the penalties are I don’t even know what the marijuana law is right now And the drinking log just keeps getting more confusing by the day Ty needs to figure it out TIT

On 11/9/2025 at 9:00 AM, CANSIAM said:

Bars included ???

Who knows ? Of course all establishments will tell you they are allowed .. as soon as you take a sip the police show up

1 hour ago, Surasak said:

TOTAL DISCRIMINATION! The law should apply to ALL venues, or not at all. These people don't have to prove they are morons, it's plain for all to see.

Indeed in the Western world they would go to court because the rules are unclear for the entertainment venues and not fair.. the law should be for everyone the same and not diffetent for the high society as it seems now

Well that's going to ferk the afternoon happy hours up.

I mean this is terrible terrible news!  is this the straw ? are you all going to leave ? and do you need to sell me your nice condo cheap cheap ?

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

No wonder tourists are leaving Thailand for other destinations.

 

Surely it would make more economical sense to go direct to another destination rather than arriving here. having a dummy spit and then leave.

 

Surely it would make a more educated sense, to comprehend what the poster you were replying to was saying

On 11/9/2025 at 9:00 AM, CANSIAM said:

Bars included ???

Yes, bars have always supposed to adhere to this draconian law. That is why most pay the BIB a monthly fee, so they can carry on selling.

 

21 hours ago, JeffTH said:

Interrestingly it is suddenly not clear if I can have a fresh beer at 4pm in my private garden 🤔

Unless you live next to the brewery no drink is fresh

25 minutes ago, chawbdurian said:

It's a stupid change but honestly good; if less tourists come Thailand will be better off in the long run. Pretty much everything old timers here complain about (e.g. the decline of the good old days) can be attributed to over-tourism and all the greed that comes with it. 

Most of the old timers I see are sitting in bars at 2.00 getting ready to order the next one.

They will not think their lives just got better.

3 hours ago, twizzian said:

I thought Anutin was pushing to stop the 3 hour afternoon alcohol sales curfew.

The hub of flip flops

On 11/9/2025 at 3:13 AM, Georgealbert said:

Individuals caught drinking or being served alcohol between 2pm and 5pm, or from midnight to 11am, could face penalties of 10,000 baht or more.

 

Insanity. They should get rid of those silly kindergarten restrictions altogether. 

There's no justifiable reason to have this law in place, and it's a major overreach by the authorities, and needs to be scrapped. Thailand needs to evolve, accept the fact that it's 21st century, and move forward and embrace the concept of progress. 

Just waking up and my comment may have been repeated already, but I truly think this country is insane.

Welcome to North Korea 2.0.

Thailand has gone completely crazy.They better close down the whole country not allow anyone to arrive.

What have they been smoking..I guess their own socks.

April 1st's are many in Thailand

Who or whom authorised the  new amendments to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act? Was it Anutin  -Bhumjaithai Party and passed by the Senate  which doesn't make sense as he was trying to get rid of the 2pm to 5pm closures not so long ago was he not?

                                                                                         OR

It was was strongly recommended by the RTP top cops who thought what a great way to massively increase their illegal money pots directed at tourists who most would have no idea there will be such a law. In short stuff the tourists as far as the RTP is concerned.

 

In my opinion it's most likely the RTP that indirectly influenced this amendment in the "Beverage Control Act" clearly for their financial gain.

While to clamp down on drivers is to be applauded, i HOPE THE RTP is that all officers on duty are tested prior to shift starting. The amount of possible  offences is enormous and that the equipment used is calibrated correctly either weekly or monthly .

One other area is that if found to be DUI, no longer pay a fine and go, immediately in court the following day . The ability ot pay your way out should be ended  which will undoubtedly cause concern in Police circles as a Little Earner is stopped 

On 11/9/2025 at 10:56 AM, Hellfire said:

Recently, two young girls at 7-Eleven refused to sell us beer at 1:20 p.m. I even had to take a photo of their own sign, which clearly stated that the prohibition applies only from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Something is seriously wrong with this restrictive mentality — starting from the government at the top and spreading all the way down through society.

Must have been a "Big Buddha" day  surely

7 minutes ago, cynic1 said:

Who or whom authorised the  new amendments to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act?

...

 

In my opinion it's most likely the RTP that indirectly influenced this amendment in the "Beverage Control Act" clearly for their financial gain.

 

That's what's so strange - no one seems to be taking credit for it, at least in the English language media. How can a change like this suddenly happen? Did parliament even have to vote on this, or was it totally up to the alcohol control board?
 

10 minutes ago, davb said:

That's what's so strange - no one seems to be taking credit for it, at least in the English language media. How can a change like this suddenly happen? Did parliament even have to vote on this, or was it totally up to the alcohol control board?
 

These new amendments to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (No. 2), B.E. 2568 (2025) were published in the Royal Gazette on September 9, 2025 and came into force on November 8, 2025. 

3 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

These new amendments to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (No. 2), B.E. 2568 (2025) were published in the Royal Gazette on September 9, 2025 and came into force on November 8, 2025. 

 

Could this be a holdover from something Thaksin and his daughter set in motion?

On 11/9/2025 at 10:07 AM, cooked said:

Special zoning for tourists will be worked out. This has been done before, I remember having to drink beer out of a coffee cup. while the waitress hid the bottle. Then there was the decision to ban shops from selling alcohol within a radius of 3 (I think) hundred metres of schools.  Meanwhile, mom and pop shops will continue to sell beer, as they did last time, apart from the first few days. "This too, will pass".

Yep, I remember many moons ago we had a minibus pick us up from Don Muang, (before Swampy was built.), we were on our way to surin. The driver stopped to fuel up, but the 7/11 did not sell beer. The driver said no plomlem, drove out of the station, about two car lengths along the road was a mom & pop shop where we bought some tins. You just cannot make it up. Now of course it is illegal to drink those minivans, allegedly.