Thailand consults on a draft Gambling Act that would replace the 1935 law in full

Thailand's Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), part of the Ministry of Interior, has opened a public consultation on a draft Gambling Act that would replace the Gambling Act B.E. 2478 (1935). The official consultation page on the legal central system, law.go.th, states that comments are being taken from November 9 to December 9, 2026, a period of 31 days. The official record classifies the exercise as a "draft law" (ร่างกฎหมาย) hearing. DOPA names the public, operators and government officials as those affected.

The official activity log on the same project records that the consultation was opened on November 9, 2026. The record identifies the hearing as the first consultation on this draft.

This hearing is separate from a principles consultation on a proposed Gambling Act that ran on the same official system from June 22 to July 22, 2026. It is also separate from a still-open consultation, through November 22, on a draft ministerial regulation under the existing 1935 Act that would change the rules for billiards, snooker and boxing, which AskSpinner has previously reported.

Why the official summary says a new Act is needed

The necessity statement posted with the draft-law consultation differs from the text used for the mid-year principles hearing. It says the 1935 Act has been in force for a long time and that many of its provisions no longer fit current economic and social conditions. In particular, the official summary says the law "does not provide a definition of gambling" and instead uses the names of games listed in a schedule at the end of the Act. As a result, it says, the law cannot be applied effectively to new forms of gambling, "especially gambling through electronic media."

Amending the details of each type of gambling, the statement continues, requires changing that schedule, which must go through the entire legislative process, "and therefore cannot keep pace with changes in the forms of gambling." It also says that existing penalties are not proportionate to the seriousness of the conduct and are not classified by the role of the offender; that asset measures are limited in scope; that the mechanism for paying rewards to informants "cannot actually be applied"; and that the law does not confer specific powers on officials.

The statement adds that the 1935 Act has no provisions on the control of lucky draws (prize promotions involving chance), the protection of children and young people, the control of advertising, or the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of people affected by gambling. "The law on gambling ought to be improved as an entirely new Act, and it is therefore necessary to enact this Act," the official text says.

In the problem statement that accompanies the consultation, DOPA also says the revision is intended "to control and reduce the granting of permission to gamble as much as possible," in line with government policy, and to broaden and increase penalties so that they cover organisers, den owners, premises owners who know of the activity, and supporters.

What the official summary says the draft would do

The consultation page sets out 14 main points. Among them, the draft would introduce statutory definitions; classify gambling into what the official text describes as three categories — forms that are absolutely prohibited, forms that may be permitted, and "gambling beyond what the law specifies" — together with lucky draws; and place gambling, online gambling and lucky draws in separate chapters, on the ground that they differ in character, method and purpose.

The summary also provides for controls on lucky draws that do not have the character of staking on a chance; licensing and approval, including by electronic means; qualifications and disqualifying characteristics for licence applicants, to screen out people whose occupation is not honest or whose conduct is unsuitable; measures to protect children and young people; powers and duties for licensing officers and other officials; legal presumptions to support prosecution; asset-forfeiture measures; tax on certain popular forms of gambling and lucky draws, with the revenue going to the state; penalties, including higher penalties for unlawful online gambling; updated fee rates, also as state revenue; and revised lists (List A and List B) of methods of play and of lucky-draw methods.

AskSpinner has not independently obtained a complete bill text. The official project record retrieved on November 13 did not list an uploaded draft-law file, a regulatory impact assessment or a summary attachment.

Comments may be submitted through the legal central system until December 9, 2026. The consultation page does not itself set a date for Cabinet consideration or for introduction in the National Assembly.