Tim Alper is a journalist who covers betting news and regulation for CasinoBeats. He joined the CasinoBeats team in May 2025. He reports on breaking news and developments in the world of betting, casinos, and...
Read Full BioPolice in Bangkok, Thailand, have arrested 200 people after a fourth raid on a notorious underground casino in the Don Mueang District.
Officers say the casino was operating at the junction of Soi Song Prapa and Thanon Song Prapha, at the site of a disused former soccer field, the Thai media outlet Khaosod Online reported.
Police say they have raided the site on three occasions in the past, dismantling illegal gambling activities at the site on each occasion.
But gambling operators and patrons appear to have been undeterred. Officers said the illegal casino offered players high levels of convenience at the site.
The casino had multiple entrance points, a designated parking area, shuttle services, and air-conditioned gaming rooms, police explained.
The gambling floor was reportedly divided into five separate gambling rooms and a central hall. It also had a separate section for VIP customers, police explained. The operators also allegedly sold a wide range of food and beverages at the site.
The casino offered card-based table games, such as Dragon Tiger. It also offered betting on games of Fan-Tan, a fixed-odds betting game popular in China and other parts of Asia.
Don Mueang Casino: Police Seize 17 Bank Books
The underground casino also had regular operating hours, opening at 10:00 a.m. and closing at 6:00 a.m. the following day, police said.
Police think the casino’s monthly revenues exceeded 500 million baht ($15.5 million).
The Acting Prime Minister and Interior Minister Phumtham Wechayachai explained that police had prepared their operation for around a month prior to carrying out the raid.
They acted after multiple Don Mueang District residents filed formal complaints. The residents claimed the casino was causing security problems.
Casino Caused Gambling Addictions in Bangkok District
Don Mueang locals also said that many of their family members had become addicted to gambling at the casino.
Phumtham said that some teenage patrons had also developed gambling addictions as a result of frequenting the casino.
As part of their raid, officers seized 17 bank books from the site. Police said that these books contained detailed records of cash flows at the casino.
In a separate development in the same part of Bangkok, a district court jailed a 69-year-old man for operating an illegal casino in Don Mueang. The man was sent to prison for over 14 years.
The defendant was found guilty of violating several Thai gambling and immigration laws, Ch7 reported on September 1.
Earlier this year, the Thai government was forced to pull the plug on a controversial bid to legalize integrated casino-resort complexes.
