Thai police seize over US$12.3m in assets from alleged online gambling network
More than 40 suspects have been detained in a series of raids in 10 provinces.
The Philippines.- Thai police have carried out a series of raids in 52 locations in 10 provinces, seizing more than US$12.3m in assets and cash from an alleged illegal online gambling network. Police made 40 arrests and seized ATM cards, more than 200 bank books and 41 cell phones.
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) say the organisation targeted was a major online gambling network based in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen. According to the Thai Public Broadcasting Service, the network had been running three online gambling websites for three years, with more than 50,000 players using them.
When players transferred to the sites’ accounts, it was quickly withdrawn and transferred to other accounts in an attempt to hide the money trail, police say. The sites are reported to have turned over around BAT2m per day.
Earlier this week, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Thailand’s minister of digital economy and society, reported that 2,819 websites have been closed over the past year in a campaign against online gambling. The ministry collects evidence on online gambling and submits it to the court to have the sites taken down.
Chaiwut noted that the number of sites taken down had more than doubled over the previous year, with 1,259 sites taken down between September 2020 and August 2021.
In July, the Thai committee tasked with studying the possibility of allowing integrated resorts with casinos submitted its final report to the National Assembly and recommended that the government should issue a decree allowing such developments in key cities.
