Thailand...E-gambling...the way forward.

[Land OF Smiles]

A little while ago, I made the (not so) permanent move from Thailand to Spain, gambling online in Spain was a doddle.

Then I moved to Thailand. I have done the hard work so you don't have to.

For some people resident in Thailand, they can find the country extremely prohibitive when it comes to financial and banking matters. Most major banks have Non-Resident baht accounts, but they are restricted.

I have an aversion to using my British & Spanish CCs over here, just because I do. (Been burned in the past.)

I wanted to gamble online using my Thai information and bank accounts and went about trying to just that. As a side-note credit cards are virtually impossible for farangs (foreigners) to get, irrespective of how much cash in the bank etc and the strings attached don't make it worth while.

Before anyone asks, the highly knowledgable Spearmaster has indicated in another post, that gambling is illegal in Thailand on Thai soil. Even then it's frequently available at underground casinos and your local temple whenever there is a funeral (which is quite regularly here). The state has lotteries and horse racing, so it does take the mick a bit. Thailand is not a muslim country, but a Bhuddist one and neighbouring Myanmar allow online gambling (just that no one there can afford to do so.)

I have discovered the way to go about it:

My Method
1. If you don't happen to speak Thai, make sure you know someone who does. This comes in very handy when going to the bank.

2. Open a Moneybookers account.

3. Visit your local bank and ask for them to perform a Wire Transfer by SWIFT to Moneybookers. SWIFT transactions are available at all branches nationwide (I found this out today, Spearmaster.)

4. Look at the accredited list of casinos found on this website, there are many that accept Moneybookers as a method of deposit/withdrawal.

5. Withdraw money from Moneybookers account, hassle-free.

Fortunately for me the headache is over, Moneybookers is a convenient tool for Thai-based customers.

Now let's just see if I can carry this to the tables.

 

[SlotsWizard]

gambling is ... frequently available at ... a funeral

Am I the only one who finds that a little peculiar and/or creepy?

Why funerals? Is it because they are unlikely targets when the authorities are looking for roulette wheels?

 

[spearmaster]

This, again, is par for the course in Asia - the reason is simply to raise the funds necessary to pay for the funeral. Weddings are sometimes also used as occasions, certainly in Hong Kong.

The authorities in Thailand are well-aware of this and usually either turn a blind-eye or they get a share... in HK they just turn a blind eye because the game is usually mahjong which is traditional and played everywhere.

 

[Land OF Smiles]

Funerals last for up to 5 days out here....

An interesting point about Bhuddist Thai funerals....(never been to a Muslim one, so can't comment.)

When someone dies, there is no question that it is a sad occasion.

Normally when not in grevious circumstances (the young or people who were completely unexpected to die), the Thais, from my observations do as the Irish do and choose to take the time to celebrate that person's life.

At my local Wat (Temple) there have been 7 funerals in my living here permanently for 6 months. It seems like a lot, but life expectancy for your average Thai is around the 60 mark.

On each occasion the funeral, mourning and also what appear to be festivities carried on for 5 days. I asked my faen (girlfriend) what all the goings on were and why they took so long. Traditionally it was religiously motivated. There were 5/4 separate days for separate rituals and rites to be performed. Nowadays, as bad as this sounds the temples become mini-casinos. Big card games are played spanning over the whole 5 days and they gamble at these funerals for a specific reason....not necessarily to pay for the funeral, normally to avoid the police. On most ocassions the local dtamruat (police) are warned and given a backhander in advance even so it is considered particularly wencum (bad karma) to gatecrash and raid a funeral. Thais believe heavily in karma and their religion. The police turn a blind eye.

Having said all of this, my local temple also holds casinos when there isn't a funeral taking place. Normally evey month they will have bright striplighting hung from trees in the colours of the chakra. I visited one a couple of months ago and the games they played were very baffling.

They have predominantly have dice games and card games. Roulette or variations don't really appear out here. The dice game I watched my (soon to be) nephew-in-law play involved a plastic mat laid out on a table with different values of dice faces showing (looked nothing like a craps table I have ever seen). They have a ceramic, plate a small wicker basket and 4 dice. The bets are placed (in the most confusing and random manner) on positive and negative outcomes. The dice are placed on the ceramic plate, covered with the wicker basket and then shaken. They place the plate on the table, still keeping the dice covered and tilt the basket and plate forward ( I was told that many hacks can tell, just by listening what the outcome of some or all of the dice are). They right-hand man to the dealer checks all is above board and the dice values are revealed to much commotion and passing of money back and forth. It is THE most weird, random, frantic gambling experience I have ever had, luckliy it wasn't me gambling.

The nephew walked in with 200 baht and walked out with 2,200, so he must have done something right.

As a complete side not while I think about it, one of the 7 people that died at the local wat was a market trader (at the sunday market at the wat). She died (this is completely true) by eating too much fruit and alcohol at the same time. In Thailand we are blessed with the curse of the 'King Of Fruits' the DURIAN (pronounced Turian in Thai). This is a fruit that can kill you, in two different ways.

1. If you are unlucky enough to be walking under a durian tree when a fruit falls to the ground. The fruits are massive. The size of a medium-sized dog and are covered with very sharp spines. Unless you are used to handling them it acutally hurts your hand to pick one up. The fruit is found inside the casing. The trees are found all over Southern Thailand and they are relatively tall for a fruit tree. Trust me if this fruit fell on your head, it would hurt A LOT.

2. And this is what really gets me. If you eat too much Durian and too much alcohol. IT CAN KILL YOU. I don't know the chemical/biological reason why, but there is an active ingredient that mixes with the alcohol and makes you foam at the mouth like a rabid dog and die. Please not that this means drinking quite a lot.

This is the craziest thing I have ever heard, a fruit that can kill you.

Anyway I really am rambling, speak to you all again soon.

 

[spearmaster]

I simplified the story - ultimately, the reason is still to pay for the funeral. What I didn't say, however, is that when someone dies, there will be people at your door very quickly bidding for the rights to "sponsor" the "activities" for which they will pay for everything, plus probably an additional amount for the right.

In the end, the funeral is paid for, the deceased is sent off with much fanfare, and the community gets to enjoy a feast. The "sponsor" of the activities obviously also walks away with a tidy profit.

The police of course are in on this, sometimes also the military.

This does not happen so much in Bangkok, where funerals are much more traditional - it usually happens in rural areas. In Bangkok, the sponsors are usually highly respected people invited by the family of the deceased, and this is considered an honor. I was highly shocked and humbled when a prominent family asked me to sponsor a day of the funeral of the patriarch of the family.

I had to refuse because I just didn't know what to do with regards to customs, procedures, etc. but it was an immense honor because they know thousands of highly-regarded people in society - our only connection to them is that my kids were best friends with their kids - I am not a member of the same society circles, nor am I even Thai. Ultimately you could say that this was an attempt to introduce us to those circles.