PATTAYA — Police officers from Pattaya City Police Station, in cooperation with Bang Lamung District administrative officials, raided and arrested a group of expats secretly playing poker on Wednesday night.
Police Colonel Nawin Theerawit, Superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station, revealed on October 10 that this case came to light after locals reported a group of people gambling at poker in a house for some time. The house is located in the Land Office Soi, Nongprue Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.
Officers staked out the location and, when someone opened the door to enter, they raided the premises. They found expats, both European and Asian, engrossed in their card game, caught completely off guard. In total, there were 9 players, 1 Thai dealer, and 1 Thai housekeeper.
Most of these foreign gamblers were retirees living in Thailand, consisting of 3 South Koreans, 2 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Russian, 1 British national, and 1 Thai person acting as the dealer. Officers seized evidence including tables, chairs used for gambling, chips representing cash, 37 decks of cards, and a sum of cash.
Initially, all suspects and evidence were taken into custody and handed over to investigators at Pattaya Police Station for legal processing. They are charged with jointly participating in illegal gambling (poker) for money without permission, which carries a penalty of up to 3 years imprisonment, a fine not exceeding 5,000 baht, or both.
The legality of poker has been a topic of debate in Thai society for a long time, discussing whether it should be removed from the list of illegal gambling activities. This includes the recent debate on whether Thailand should legalize casinos.
Supporters argue that gambling is widespread in Thai society and practically impossible to control completely, so bringing underground businesses to the surface would allow the government to collect taxes from gambling and reduce the influence of various powerful groups.
On the other hand, opponents believe that legalizing gambling would legitimize and promote it, making it easier for people to gamble, and the negative impacts of gambling would have an even greater adverse effect on society.
_________
