TLDR
- Former Democrat Party MP Sirichoke Sopha said 29 of 30 gambling websites he checked were still accessible in Thailand.
- The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry reported blocking 945,075 gambling-related links.
- He said five major platforms received a combined 1.43 million monthly visits from Thailand.
- He asked DES Minister Chaichanok Chidchob to explain why major gambling sites remain online.
- He urged authorities to trace gambling money, including cryptocurrency transfers.
A former Thai lawmaker has questioned the government’s crackdown on online gambling. Former Democrat Party MP Sirichoke Sopha said 29 of the 30 betting websites he checked could still be reached.
His comments challenge figures released by the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry. The ministry reported that it had restricted 945,075 gambling-related links.
Sirichoke shared his findings in a social media post. He said major platforms remained available despite the large number of blocked addresses.
He also said five well-known gambling platforms could still be reached through their original addresses. According to him, these sites received a combined 1.43 million visits from Thailand each month.
Questions Over Which Links Were Blocked
Sirichoke asked how many of the blocked links were main gambling websites. He suggested many may have been secondary addresses or backup pages.
In his view, authorities appeared to be blocking minor links while leaving core platforms open. He called for an explanation of what exactly was being blocked.
The ministry’s figure counts gambling-related links. Sirichoke’s checks focused on whether users could still reach the gambling websites themselves.
His findings are based only on the sites he said he checked. They are not a separate review of every link in the ministry’s total.
Sirichoke challenged DES Minister Chaichanok Chidchob to explain why major platforms were still online. He linked the question to the minister’s earlier opposition to a proposed entertainment complex that would include a casino.
The former MP argued that online gambling posed a greater threat than the casino plan. His remarks focused on the practical results of the enforcement measures.
Call to Trace Gambling Money and Crypto Transfers
Sirichoke also urged the government to investigate money moving through online gambling operations. He said this could include transfers made through cryptocurrency.
He said investigators should find out who funded and benefited from protection schemes. His mention of these schemes was a call for investigation, not a proven finding.
The proposed inquiry would look at a different question than the blocking figures. It would focus on who supports the operations and who benefits from them.
Sirichoke also referred to Shuffle.com, a gambling platform that restricted access from Thailand. The restriction came after he had raised allegations linking the operation to an MP.
He suggested the platform may have restricted access to avoid further scrutiny. That reason is his own interpretation, and the platform’s motive has not been established.
His comments add the Shuffle case to his wider call for closer scrutiny of online gambling in Thailand. He is now pressing the DES Ministry to explain why major betting sites remain accessible.
