Spread Betting... Illegal In Thailand

[CrossBones]

Silly question perhaps?

Is spread betting using your Thai account and and offshore spread betting account illegal in Thailand??

Since its basically just gambling, not investment

Thanks

[MEGALITHIC]

I log onto capitalspreads.com every day without a problem. Maybe they just haven't blocked the site yet.

[Maizefarmer]

How do you move your money quickly if you need to or want to - takes time to move money into/out of current accounts when its going off-shore?

[trd]

How do you move your money quickly if you need to or want to - takes time to move money into/out of current accounts when its going off-shore?

I don't understand your point. It always takes time to move money from one account to another.

My forex trading account is in the usa. I make withdrawals to an offshore account which takes one or two days. I can then take out that cash from an ATM or transfer it to my savings account here. I have chosen not to transfer directly from my broker to my Thai account to avoid any potential tax implications.

[Maizefarmer]

I do forex trading online from Thailand - and I keep my trading account funds setup to move them on the press of the mouse left hand button - instantly, which means keeping them with a forex trading facility off-shore - who run the software program I trade through. That may not be an issue in share trading (?), but its an issue in forex trading - my point was: why keep the funds in a Thai bank account when they could be put into a trading account off-shore - wouldn't that all round be better (then just transfer to your Thai bank account what you need when you need it).

[JayF]

I used to work for a bookmakers in Gibraltar. We opened a spreadbetting business on the WorldSpreads Ltd. platform while I was there. That part of the business was regulated by the Financial Services Authority rather than any of the many gambling commissions and authorities. Spreadbetting isn't seen as gambling under UK Law, but I wouldn't like to say how it's seen in Thai law. I have heard of people staying in Thailand making a living playing online poker never having had any problems. If the website isn't banned I can't see you having a problem. Just speculating...don't take my word for it.

Have you had a look to see if there are any legit Thai companies offering a spreadbetting service?

[Sabre]

I used to work for a bookmakers in Gibraltar. We opened a spreadbetting business on the WorldSpreads Ltd. platform while I was there. That part of the business was regulated by the Financial Services Authority rather than any of the many gambling commissions and authorities. Spreadbetting isn't seen as gambling under UK Law, but I wouldn't like to say how it's seen in Thai law. I have heard of people staying in Thailand making a living playing online poker never having had any problems. If the website isn't banned I can't see you having a problem. Just speculating...don't take my word for it.

Have you had a look to see if there are any legit Thai companies offering a spreadbetting service?

I must admit, this is not something I know a lot about, but it sounds like one of those schemes (just like poker) where there is always a sucker, and if you don't know who the sucker is, it's you?

[Trickcyclist]

shhhhhhhhhhh!!

[JayF]

I used to work for a bookmakers called XXXXXXX in Gibraltar. We opened a spreadbetting business on the XXXXXXXXX. platform while I was there. That part of the business was regulated by the Financial Services Authority rather than any of the many gambling commissions and authorities. Spreadbetting isn't seen as gambling under UK Law, but I wouldn't like to say how it's seen in Thai law. I have heard of people staying in Thailand making a living playing online poker never having had any problems. If the website isn't banned I can't see you having a problem. Just speculating...don't take my word for it.

Have you had a look to see if there are any legit Thai companies offering a spreadbetting service?

Edit: removed company names (could identify me)

I must admit, this is not something I know a lot about, but it sounds like one of those schemes (just like poker) where there is always a sucker, and if you don't know who the sucker is, it's you?

Spreadbetting is very similar to playing the stock market. The difference being rather than actually owning shares you bet on whether the share price will go up or down. You don't get odds as in traditional sportsbetting, rather you bet $/£x per $/£0.01 share movement (up or down). You can also bet on commodity prices, currencies, etc. If you know your financial markets enough to make money on share dealing (which many people do) then you can make money on spread-betting. The companies make money either on a transaction fee or a spread. In share dealing the spread is the difference between buy price and sell price. In spreadbetting it's the same principle. Of course, the company is there to make a profit but only in the same way as any stockbroker.

I don't see poker as a scheme either. I don't play often (I'm not a great player) but I do know at lot about the industry. I personally know players who win tens of thousands of dollars, consistently, on a monthly basis and the majority of players who lose, only lose what they can afford. There are a few exceptions, but it's there choice. Casino games are a different matter, I don't play them (just market them), but don't hold it against anyone who wants to be stupid enough to.