Just weeks after taking office, the government of Thailand's new Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has been rocked by a corruption scandal. A former senior
Just weeks after taking office, the government of Thailand’s new Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has been rocked by a corruption scandal. A former senior police officer has publicly accused four high-ranking members of the Prime Minister’s own Bhumjaithai Party of accepting bribes from the owners of nine casinos in neighbouring Cambodia.
The accuser, former Special Branch Bureau officer Santana Prayoonrat, visited the party’s headquarters on Monday, telling media that he had 50 pages of documents to substantiate his claims. He alleged that two of the party members involved held ministerial roles and were close to Cambodian casino kingpins.
The allegations are incredibly damaging for Prime Minister Anutin, who has built his political platform as a staunch opponent of legalising casinos in Thailand. The country’s much-debated Entertainment Complex Bill, which would have allowed for large-scale integrated resorts, has been shelved since he took power, a move he supported.
Santana’s accusations suggest a staggering level of hypocrisy: that key figures in the very party that is blocking a regulated domestic industry may have been privately profiting from the vast, unregulated cross-border casino industry that thrives in its absence. Anutin has reportedly claimed he does not know the officer.
The bribery allegations come at a time of already escalating tensions between Thailand and Cambodia over the casino industry. In a separate and ongoing dispute, the Royal Thai Navy has demanded that Cambodia demolish a newly built casino in a disputed border area in Trat Province, which it claims is illegally located on Thai territory.
“ You will either demolish it yourself or allow us to demolish it for you,” the head of the Royal Thai Navy, Admiral Jirapol Wongwit, stated in a direct challenge to Cambodian officials on Tuesday.
These corruption allegations, whether ultimately proven or not, cast a long shadow over the entire debate on gambling in Thailand. They fuel deep skepticism about the true motivations behind the country’s political decisions and reinforce the view that a powerful and potentially corrupt system benefits from the current legal limbo.
For international operators who had hoped for a transparent, regulated market in Thailand, this scandal is another major red flag. It adds a thick layer of perceived political risk to an already complex and uncertain situation, making the prospect of a stable, well-governed gaming industry seem more distant than ever.
