Three Online Gambling Admins Arrested Sneaking Back Into Thailand
Three Thai online gambling administrators were arrested while illegally crossing the Thai-Cambodia border near Sa Kaeo after losing their jobs when Cambodia shut down their operation in early 2025.
At 8:00 a.m. on July 7, 2025, ranger forces from the Aranyaprathet Special Operations Unit and the 1201 Ranger Company conducted border patrol operations in the area between checkpoint 13-14 at Ban Dong Ngu, Pa Rai subdistrict, Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province. They discovered three Thai nationals—two men and one woman—who had illegally entered the country without authorization and took them into custody for questioning.
Background checks revealed that one suspect was linked to five cases and had an outstanding warrant from the Juvenile and Family Court. The other two suspects had no arrest warrants. During interrogation, all three confessed to working as online gambling website administrators in Poipet, Cambodia, since July 2024. When their employer relocated the operation from Thailand to Cambodia to escape Thai law enforcement crackdowns, they followed. In early 2025, Cambodia launched sweeps against illegal businesses and foreign workers, forcing the gambling site to shut down. Unemployed and broke, the suspects resorted to selling drinking water and lotus leaves in Poipet but struggled to earn income. With no money left and facing strict enforcement, they decided to trek back to Thailand by crossing canals and cutting through barbed-wire fences.
Authorities are holding all three suspects and have forwarded the case to Khlong Lek Police Station in Sa Kaeo province for legal proceedings. Investigators are also pursuing other network members involved in cross-border online gambling operations who remain at large.
