Online Gambling Law in Thailand

Updated: 2025

In Thailand, almost every kind of gambling is against the law. While the legislation doesn't specifically target internet play, online gambling is caught up in the general ban on all forms of gambling. There's only a couple of exceptions: you can buy a national lottery ticket, and if you're really set on wagering, you can go to a few select racetracks and bet on horses. Other than that, the entire country is basically a no-gambling zone.

Yet, making money by betting or playing cards is nothing new in this Southeast Asian nation. For decades, a cobweb of legal and illegal gambling dens has kept the population entertained and better off—as long as they beat the odds and come out winners. Meanwhile, taxes on the legal operations (which also include lotteries) have fattened the state’s coffers. A first-ever national survey of gambling activities conducted in 2009 by the Thailand Development Research Institute found that nearly three out of five Thais are engaged in some form of gambling.

Most of the bets placed in Thailand are not with legally authorized entities. Instead, they are placed with local bookies and agents who operate in outright violation of the law. The majority of prominent betting platforms likewise welcome clients from Thailand and manage deposits and withdrawals in Thai bahts. The government tries to prevent access to recognized gambling websites. However, users can still reach most such sites with just a bit of an extra push.

Is It Legal to Bet in Thailand?

For the most part, local police do not pay much attention to gambling, but they do carry out the odd raid from time to time to suggest that they take it seriously. Thai police arrested over 1,000 people in a 2014 World Cup raid. Among those arrested were a good number of bookmakers, but several ordinary bettors got taken in as well.

In Thailand, you can be fined ฿1000 and sent to jail for up to a year for being caught gambling, and the same applies to alleged gamblers you're seen with. Betting parlors don't normally feature in my travel itinerary, but if they did, I'd be careful about where I chose to hang out.

The same holds true for bets made through the Internet. If you are caught, netted in the online scene of gambling, you will face the same charges as if you were caught with a bookie down on Main Street. Far less by way of penalties and people taking a fall for the online scene has made it seem like a free-for-all—but if you are nabbed, you will still see the same kinds of penalties that you would see if caught doing any other kind of illegal gambling.

If you’re set on gambling in Thailand, the internet is your safest bet. Police don’t burst in from all angles looking for people making online wagers. If you keep it low and gamble at home, minding your business and avoiding the appearance of being part of some underground operation, you should be fine. The biggest risk you would face at that point would be the risk of someone snitching on you to the police in some fit of spite. Here's making a strong case for online gambling on Android to be in your plans.

Safety Precautions for Online Gambling

Every year, a huge number of people in Thailand gamble on the internet. Indeed, it has become a common place for many online poker pros to make a living, having been forced to leave their home countries due to unfavorable laws. PokerStars and Full Tilt went away with the US market, but no longer being in the US didn't stop many of these players from being successful in Thailand.

Nonetheless, some safety measures need to be taken. If you enjoy placing bets or playing poker on the Internet, it is best to keep it a personal pastime. There aren't many upsides to making your online gambling abroad part of your local identity, especially when some parts of Thailand have local laws against it. What's to stop your neighbor from tipping off the local police and saying there's a suspicious money trail leading from an online poker site to your house?

If you make a good living as a professional sports bettor or poker player, you need to have a plausible cover for why your direct income isn't showing up on your tax return—for both federal and state taxes. With a decent cover story, you might avoid drawing undue attention to yourself and your activities.

Foreigners in Thailand should exercise caution because the authorities do not regard online poker or internet gambling as a valid job or business. If discovered, your source of income could result in deportation.