Gambling advocate and net idol arrested for allegedly running online gambling operation

Caitlin AshworthPublished: 15:15, 04 February 2021| Updated: 15:15, 04 February 2021

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Gambling advocate and net idol arrested for allegedly running online gambling operation

PHOTO: Thairath

An internet idol once called the “Gambler King” by the Bangkok Post was arrested for allegedly running an online gambling operation. The 29 year old self-professed gambler, Apirak “Sia Po” Chat-anon, is known for advocating for the legalisation of gambling. The Thai government even asked him to be an advisor on a committee reviewing Thailand’s laws on gambling.

Police from the Crime Suppression Division also arrested Sia Po’s “follower” Pacharapol Chansawang and 25 Burmese workers early this morning. Officers raided Sia Po’s home in Bangkok’s Phasicharoen district as well as 6 other places allegedly related to the gambling network. A crowd of reporters followed armed officers in one of the raids. (See video below)

Caitlin Ashworth

Caitlin Ashworth is a writer from the United States who has lived in Thailand since 2018. She graduated from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies in 2016. She was a reporter for the Daily Hampshire Gazette In Massachusetts. She also interned at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia and Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida.