Casinos and online gambling have continued as usual in Myanmar’s Payathonzu township, opposite the Three Pagodas Pass in Kanchanaburi province, since Thailand suspended the supply of electricity, petrol and internet to five locations in Tachileik and Payathonzu townships in Myawaddy on February 5.
Maj Gen Asadawut Panyarachun, commander of the Surasee Task Force based in Kanchanaburi province, told the media today that the operators of the casinos and online gambling platforms have turned to generators and solar panels to produce electricity and are using the satellite-based ‘Starlink’ internet service, which is currently not available in Thailand.
He noted that Payathonzu, which is under the control of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), is relatively more peaceful than Tachileik and Myawaddy, with no fighting with government forces being reported.
The colonel disclosed that there are about 10 gambling establishments operating in Payathonzu, seven of which are online platforms operated by Chinese organised crime groups and ethnic Karens.
Some of them have relocated from Cambodia and Laos, to evade crackdowns by the Laotian and Cambodian authorities.
He said most of the gamblers are now Burmese and Chinese, as the border crossing has been closed by Myanmar’s government.
