Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing whether or not it is time for Thailand to legalize gambling. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Officers transferred after gambling raid, again bangkokpost.com. Quoting directly: "CHIANG MAI: Five senior Police Officers from Chang Phueak Police Station have been transferred to inactive posts for allowing a gambling den to operate under their watch. During the raid, Police Officers arrested 104 people, 19 of them were card dealers and croupier." As a former card dealer in a casino myself, I have to say that would be a weird experience. That said, generally speaking as a legitimate card dealer you know when you are working in a place that has a license. Quoting further: "They also seized 31 cars, 10 motorbikes, cash and gambling paraphernalia. All those arrested were taken to Chang Phueak Police Station - as were the seized items - where they were charged with being involved in and operating illegal gambling activities." 

We talked about gambling quite a little bit some months ago, it has been about 6 or 8 months since the last time I really talked about it in earnest as that was the last time Parliament was open and during that Parliament they were talking pretty seriously about the possibility of legalizing gambling in Thailand. Now nothing ever came of it, we never saw an act promulgated which changed the current laws which makes virtually all forms of gambling illegal here in Thailand with the exception of certain sports like horse racing and with regard to lottery; both of those things are legal here in Thailand, but virtually every other type of gambling here in Thailand is illegal. And I often wonder, again I like to believe I have a pretty balanced view on the notion of legalized gambling having worked in the industry; I have seen some of the pros and cons. It's not all wine and roses in terms of, I get it. Governments look at it, they view it as almost a tax cash cow. Again casinos can be a real sinkhole on an overall economy. The other thing is when they are made legal. When they are illegal, there are certain problem gamblers that just don't gamble because it is illegal. They don't want to do it because of the illicit nature of the activity. But when it gets legalized there are a lot of folks that might not otherwise have problems with gambling that find their love of gambling and then they have serious gambling issues. Again it's something that you really, really have to analyze before making a final decision; it's not something to jump into rashly in terms of public policy. So I can fully understand why they have been sort of very slowly and meticulously reviewing the issue of legalized gambling. 

That said, I think that there are benefits that could come to the Kingdom, if it's properly implemented, and I could make an argument both ways in terms of pro or against gambling or the legalization thereof here in Thailand. I would also make an argument that it is a good idea to look at the possibility of SMEs being able to have some form of sort of minor gambling licenses, things like card rooms as opposed to full blown casinos. Now I get it, a full-blown casino drags in a lot of money especially internationally but maybe having something where everybody in the community, especially small businesses could benefit, that that could be an overall positive for everyone. Again, all of this remains to be seen but we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.