
The Digital Economy and Society Ministry (DES) is pushing to legalise online gambling, but it looks far from being a safe bet. DES Minister Prasert Jantararungtong said last week the cabinet had approved the ministry's proposal to manage online gambling in principle, bringing such activities into a legal framework to ensure proper taxation.
The minister says the legislation's goal in legalising underground businesses is to boost state income, complementing the Pheu Thai-led government's policy. Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Pheu Thai Party's founder, noted that around 2-4 million people in the country gamble online. He suggested a 20% tax could generate about 100 billion in annual revenue for the state.
Mr Prasert appears to be so fixated on the potential tax windfall that he has become blind to the other pressing matters, such as the financial damage caused by various online frauds, particularly call centre scams -- the very crimes his ministry are meant to combat. This raises a critical question: If the DES has failed to tackle underground gambling activities as "crimes", what gives it the confidence it needs to control and regulate them now?
Mr Prasert seems to stake everything in legislation, seeking cooperation from the Interior Ministry and the Council of State to amend secondary laws on online gambling -- a task he ambitiously aims to complete in a month before tackling major laws. While updating the laws to address new and evolving aspects of online gambling could help the government's efforts, legislation alone is not enough to control underground operations. The proliferation of online gambling -- whether virtual casinos, sports betting or lotteries -- is evidence in itself of how these activities thrive despite existing laws.
Without the DES putting in robust safeguards, including measures to eradicate corruption and strict law enforcement, it is difficult to imagine how legislation will be able to control such businesses notorious for high profits and dark influences. The DES minister seems to have overlooked another crucial point -- new legislation does not automatically bring underground businesses into the light.
While the government eyes tax revenue, what incentives do online gambling operators have to sacrifice their profit margin and emerge from the shadows? Unless the DES and other agencies can enforce the laws and devise sufficiently severe penalties for those evading legal status, there is little hope underground businesses will comply. Even more disconcerting is that, unlike the entertainment complex bill to pave the way for large projects such as legal casinos, this proposal would legitimise mass-market gambling, from football betting to cock fighting. Although Mr Prasert promises public hearings once the amendments are complete, the key concern is whether the ministry is heading in the right direction. There is a vast difference between regulating online gambling to protect citizens and merely chasing tax revenue. If the latter is true, the ministry itself may be making the riskiest gamble of all.