Thai authorities have widened an online gambling probe into serving MP Chonnaput Naksua of Songkhla, adding money-laundering and transnational organised crime allegations to a case investigators say has run since 2019.
AG Brief reported that the expanded action also covers six other suspects linked to the alleged cross-border syndicate. Formal charges were expected after the current parliamentary session ends because immunity rules restrict prosecutorial steps while the House is sitting.
According to the Department of Special Investigation and the Office of the Attorney General, the syndicate ran at least three major gambling websites. Investigators say Naksua organised online betting, advertised the platforms and urged the public to take part.
Authorities said the network processed more than 1 billion baht. Crime victims’ rights activist Atchariya Ruengrattanapong separately claimed the wider network may involve more than 2.5 billion baht in assets and more than 15 billion baht flowing through it.
The case has moved through a series of warrants and searches this year. NationThailand reported that in March the DSI sought 27 arrest warrants, the Criminal Court approved 25, and Chonnaput was ordered to report on 12 March after investigators said they had found about 39 million baht in circulation linked to him.
That same briefing said investigators searched 10 locations across Songkhla, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Bangkok, and found audio clips and chat records that they said could be linked to him. Authorities also seized property assets, including nine branded handbags valued at about 10 million baht, while another 150 million baht in assets was under AMLO review.
The Thai Examiner reported that parliament later blocked a DSI attempt to question him during session, prompting criticism that lawmakers were shielding him. The report said parliamentary immunity prevents arrest and certain investigative steps while parliament is sitting, forcing investigators to seek House approval.
The broader backdrop is a country where only the state lottery and horse racing are legal, yet underground gambling is estimated at about 1.1 trillion baht in annual handle and 50 billion to 150 billion baht in revenue. iGamingFuture also said authorities blocked more than 700,000 gambling websites between October and May and removed 14,000 pages in an 18-day blitz at the start of June.
It also said enforcement has included payment blocking designed to make life harder for mule accounts, as Thailand moves further toward crackdowns after shelving casino-legalisation plans. If Parliament rejects the request, investigators would have to wait until the session ends on 11 July, when immunity expires.
