Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin urgently calls for the legalization of online gambling to curb the underground economy without delay.

On July 9, 2025, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a rare appearance on the TV political talk show "Breaking Through Thailand's Stalemate," calling on the government to immediately initiate the legalization of online gambling and incorporate it into a strict regulatory framework. He emphasized that facing the massive underground economy and capital outflow issues, only "transparent management" is the right path.

Every year, 300 billion Thai baht is lost, and underground gambling is hard to curb

Thaksin admitted in the program that the annual capital loss caused by online gambling, telecommunications fraud, and illegal capital flows in Thailand is conservatively estimated to have exceeded 300 billion Thai baht. Online gambling alone has an annual transaction scale of over 150 billion Thai baht, with many gambling funds flowing abroad.

"We know who is gambling and where the platforms are, but because it's illegal, the government is powerless. Legalization would allow for regulation and taxation."

Thaksin proposes a four-tier regulatory mechanism

Thaksin suggested that the government should learn from international models to promote the establishment of compliant and controllable online gambling platforms, accompanied by four major regulatory elements:

Real-name system: Players need to bind their official digital identity (Digital ID)

Age threshold: Prohibit individuals under 20 years old from participating in gambling

Data monitoring: Platform betting data should be uploaded to the backend in real-time

Legal taxation: Gambling proceeds should be included in the national fiscal system

He emphasized: "If gray income is not guided on track, it will only exacerbate the regulatory vacuum and social issues."

Gray economy devours the economy, reform is urgent

Besides gambling, Thaksin also pointed out that Thailand's underground gray economy has fully penetrated the national consumer life: annual recharges to overseas gaming platforms exceed 50 billion Thai baht, scams and black money transactions cause losses of 70 to 80 billion Thai baht, plus a large amount of drug trafficking, illegal lending, money laundering transactions, and other unclear capital flows.

"All these combined equal half of Thailand's GDP. If the government continues to stand by, it will lose the last window for economic transformation."

Responding to doubts: What really affects tourists is security, not gambling policy

Addressing the controversy that "Thailand's entertainment industry deters Chinese tourists," Thaksin denied it. He stated that the key reason for the decrease in Chinese tourists is security issues, not the image of the entertainment industry.

"In recent years, incidents of kidnapping, telecom fraud, and extortion have been frequent, and tourists are worried not about gambling but about personal safety."

He revealed that the government is advancing the "Smart City" plan, deploying AI surveillance systems in key cities nationwide to improve security levels and restore tourist confidence.

"We can't wait any longer!" — Thaksin issues a final ultimatum to the government

Faced with external doubts about "whether the current government's foundation is stable enough to promote reform," Thaksin took a firm stance: "We can't delay any longer, delaying is losing. What needs to be done must be done immediately."

He further stated that he has conveyed the reform stance to the current Prime Minister Petongtan Shinawatra (his daughter): "We must seize the opportunity and complete the national adjustment at all costs. If the government fails, the people will make a choice in the next election."