Reform of the gambling law long overdue

The perpetrator of a recent gold-shop robbery turned out to be a 34-year-old technical-college teacher who was indebted because of gambling. He subsequently committed suicide.

According to his suicide note, he was forced by men working for his creditor to rob the gold shop in Nan to repay his debt. The man hanged himself at his Sukhothai home after his supervisor at the college recognised him from security-camera images taken during the heist.

This might be a small piece of news – yet another personal disaster caused by a gambling habit – but there are more and more cases like this, in which desperate people are forced to commit crimes in order to repay big gambling debts. 

In a 2011 survey by Chulalongkorn University’s Social Research Institute, more than 64 per cent of the 5,000 respondents in 16 provinces admitted to gambling over the past year, and 63 per cent said they had gambled while young, the youngest at age seven.

The underground lottery is the most popular form of gambling among Thais, with an estimated 19.9 million regular participants. This is followed by the official government lottery (19.2 million players), casino-style gambling (3.1 million), and gambling on football (1.1 million). In 2010 an estimated Bt102 billion was spent on the underground lottery, Bt76.7 billion on the government lottery, Bt46.3 billion in casinos, and Bt38 billion on football, according to Chulalongkorn University’s Centre for Gambling Studies. 

Older people tend to prefer the lotteries, while gamblers on football are younger, according to the centre. People aged 35 to 54 constitute more than 57 per cent of those who play the 

 lotteries regularly. In football gambling, 37 per cent of the gamblers are aged 25-34 and another 36 per cent are 24 or under. This is in line with the results of a 2010 study by Dhurakij Pundit University, which found that most football gamblers are students and company employees.

Many people are casual or social gamblers, but others are addicted and become pathological gamblers who need rehabilitation. In the latter group, the habit can severely affect the lives of others, including family members. Pathological gambling often leads to higher household debt and strained family ties.

Indebted gamblers are often harassed by creditors who want their money back. In extreme cases the gambler is told to choose between repayment or death. This is why some gamblers turn to crime in order to get quick money. Some carry out armed robberies of banks or gold shops, while some cheat their employers or customers. 

Lax enforcement of the law and police corruption are often cited as reasons for the worsening problem of illegal gambling. Now there are more calls for reform of the 78-year-old Gambling Act of 1935, which was last amended in 1962. Critics say the ageing law can no longer cope with the latest technology and other developments in the gambling industry, and the legal penalties do not discourage offenders. 

The relevant authorities need to put more resources into educational measures to prevent young people from gambling, and to make sure that addicted gamblers get proper rehabilitation. Unfortunately, we have to place our hopes on officials who have not already benefited from illegal gambling.