How to Prepare for Thailand Gambling Traffic

Thailand is moving towards a historic shift in its gambling policy. Early in 2026 the cabinet approved a draft bill to legalise casinos and gambling within large entertainment complexes, in order to boost tourism, jobs, and investment. Tourism already accounts for roughly 11–12 percent of GDP and is expected to remain a key growth engine. At the same time, the legal process has become more uncertain, with the Senate later pushing back against the bill and calling for a public referendum.

For affiliates and media buyers, this does not mean that online casino offers can suddenly be pushed into Thailand without risk. Online gambling remains illegal today, but the direction of policy is clear: integrated casino resorts and potentially regulated online platforms are on the horizon. This article explains how to prepare for future Thailand gambling traffic, how to understand the legal framework online gambling Thailand 2026, and how to position yourself to use TrafficStars when regulated opportunities open.

Why Thailand matters: online casino Thailand and casino tourism

Before any legal online casino Thailand offers appear, it is helpful to understand why the market attracts so much attention.

Thailand welcomed about 35.5 million international tourists in 2024, close to pre-pandemic volumes, and tourism spending reached around 1.66 trillion baht, or almost 9 percent of GDP, with the wider tourism sector contributing roughly 12 percent. Industry analysts and the government see casino resorts as a way to defend this position and compete with regional hubs such as Singapore and Macau.

The draft bill approved in January 2026 would allow casinos only inside multi-purpose “entertainment complexes” that also include hotels, malls, convention halls, and theme parks, with entry fees for local players and a minimum age of 20. The idea is to encourage casino tourism while containing social risks. If this model succeeds, integrated resorts are likely to become powerful acquisition channels for both on-site and online gaming products in the medium term.

For affiliates, that means:

• A future where regulated operators will invest heavily in acquisition, especially around Bangkok and major tourist destinations.
• An audience with strong existing demand for football betting and informal online casinos, but currently served by grey and black markets.

Legal framework online gambling Thailand 2025

Thailand’s Gambling Act of 1935 prohibits almost all gambling, with only the state lottery and betting on horse races clearly allowed. Online gambling is explicitly treated as illegal, and authorities have repeatedly blocked casino websites and cracked down on underground operations.

As of November 2025:

• The Entertainment Complex Bill is not in force.
• Land-based casinos and online casinos for Thai residents are still illegal.
• Foreign tourists can legally gamble only in very limited existing channels such as horse racing and lottery.

Any marketing plan must respect this reality. Now is the time to prepare assets, funnels, and strategy, rather than to push unlicensed offers into the market.

The Entertainment Complex Bill and casino legalisation

On 13 January 2026, the cabinet approved a draft law to legalise casinos and gambling within large entertainment complexes. The objective is to attract investment, create thousands of jobs, and capture revenue that currently flows to casinos in neighbouring countries.

Key features of the current proposals include:

• Casinos as part of integrated resorts with hotels, malls, convention centres, and leisure facilities.
• Age limit of at least 20 years.
• Entry fee for Thai citizens of 5,000 baht, while foreign visitors enter casino floors without a fee.
• A projected 17 percent tax on gross gaming revenue for licensed casino and potentially online operators, on top of corporate income tax.

Prominent political figures, including Thaksin Shinawatra, have argued that legal online gambling could bring the state up to 100 billion baht per year, so online channels are clearly part of the debate.

Legislative risk and timeline

The process is far from simple. In September 2025 the Senate rejected the casino bill in its existing form and recommended that any future attempt to legalize casino gaming should require a national referendum. Legal commentators suggest that the earliest realistic timeline for final approval, if the project survives, would see a decision on the Entertainment Complex Bill around the end of 2025 and licence bidding only in 2026.

For affiliates this means:

• It is too early to run direct acquisition campaigns for Thai-licensed online casinos, because no such licences exist yet.
• However, it is the perfect moment to understand Thailand sports betting regulation 2026 and prepare compliant funnels that can be switched on quickly if and when the law passes.

Thai audience online gambling behaviour

Despite strict laws, betting is culturally present. Football betting, card games, underground casinos, and informal lottery play are all widespread, particularly around major sports events. At the same time, the population is overwhelmingly mobile and young: smartphone penetration has grown rapidly, with mobile connections equivalent to around 136 percent of the population, and the market shipped about 16.9 million smartphones in 2024 alone.

In practice, this means that future regulated online casino Thailand real money slots offers will likely attract:

• Mobile-first users who are comfortable with apps, QR codes, and digital wallets.
• A large segment of 18–34-year-olds who are already familiar with informal betting interfaces.
• Travellers and tourists who expect the same live casino and sportsbook experiences they already enjoy in other regional hubs.

For now, this behaviour is mostly directed towards offshore websites and informal agents. A regulated market would redirect that demand towards licensed brands with proper KYC, responsible gambling tools, and clear consumer protections.

Affiliate marketing Thailand gambling offers: what to prepare now

Even before legalisation, you can work on affiliate marketing Thailand gambling offers at the strategic level, without breaching current rules.

Recommended preparation steps:

1. Research the legal environment in depth Track the progress of the Entertainment Complex Bill, the Senate’s stance, and any separate proposals for online gambling or sports betting.
2. Build non-promotional content first You can already produce educational pages about: “legal framework online gambling Thailand 2026” “history of casinos and gambling in Thailand” “casino tourism in Asia and Thailand’s position” Focus on facts, not on driving deposits.
3. Develop Thai-localised assets Prepare Thai language landers, advertorial templates, and banner sets that describe bonuses, live casino features, and football betting in neutral terms. These can be adapted later to specific licensed brands.
4. Segment your audience Identify segments such as football fans, frequent travellers to entertainment destinations, and high-intent search users. Create different funnels for each, ready for activation once advertising of licensed operators becomes legal.

Casino traffic sources Thailand: pop ads, native ads, and more

When Thailand eventually permits licensed online gambling promotions, you will need robust traffic sources beyond mainstream platforms that are often conservative about gambling. This is where TrafficStars becomes a key partner.

For future casino traffic sources Thailand pop ads native ads, TrafficStars offers:

• Popunder and Full-Page Interstitial formats that can deliver high volumes of Thai mobile traffic rapidly once geo-targeting for licensed offers is allowed.
• Native and In-Page Push placements that are ideal for story-driven advertorial funnels and listicles, particularly on mobile-heavy sites.
• Standard display banners and video pre-rolls that help build brand recognition for integrated resort brands and online casinos.

Because TrafficStars is experienced with iGaming and adult entertainment campaigns across Asia, it already has the tools to manage age-restricted content and apply strict geo-targeting. You will be able to confine Thai-focused gambling creatives to users in jurisdictions where your offer is legal, and later expand to Thai users only when regulators permit it.

How to drive adult gambling traffic Thailand with TrafficStars (when it becomes legal)

Once online gambling or sportsbook marketing is explicitly allowed, you can follow a structured plan to drive adult gambling traffic Thailand through TrafficStars.

1. Work only with licensed brands Promote operators that hold Thai licences or that are clearly allowed to serve the jurisdiction in question. This reduces legal risk and improves user trust.
2. Segment by device and location Create separate campaigns for Android and iOS users, and test different bids for Bangkok, major tourist cities, and secondary regions. Thailand is Android-heavy and highly urbanised in terms of digital behaviour.
3. Match format to funnel stage Use Popunder and Full-Page Interstitial for aggressive acquisition during major sports events. Use Native and In-Page Push for softer, content-driven approaches such as reviews of “best online casino Thailand casino tourism bonuses”. Use Video Pre-Roll to showcase live casino floors, app UX, and instant football bets.
4. Localise creatives fully All main text, CTAs, and compliance messages should appear in Thai, with English variants for tourists where permitted. Always include 20+ and responsible gambling disclaimers in line with future Thai regulations.
5. Optimise with TrafficStars tools TrafficStars provides automatic optimization rules, zone whitelisting and blacklisting, and bid adjustment by placement. Use these functions to turn off non-converting sources quickly and scale the inventory that delivers registrations, first deposits, and repeat play.

Conclusion: prepare now, switch on later

Thailand is not yet a legal online casino market, but the trajectory is clear. The government wants to capture casino tourism revenue, integrate gambling into large entertainment complexes, and potentially regulate online gambling in a way that protects consumers and attracts international investment.

Affiliates and media buyers who begin preparing now – studying the Thailand sports betting regulation 2026 debate, building Thai-language funnels, and planning for e-wallet-driven mobile journeys – will be ready to move first when the legal door opens. TrafficStars will provide the pop, native, push, banner, and video traffic you need to scale compliant, adult-only gambling campaigns in Thailand and across Asia, as soon as the law allows it.