Pattaya Police Arrest Elderly Expats for Playing Bridge

You may be aware that Thailand has strict anti-gambling laws, but what you may not be aware of is that a simple game of cards could get you arrested.

Trouble in paradise. Image Credit: Artiom Gorgan(Flickr)

A group of expats in Pattaya got a shock when they were descended on by police while they were playing bridge earlier this week.

32 people were detained until 3am, most of whom were European pensioners.
They were subsequently released but with a fine of 5000bt each.

The bridge club was able to prove they were not playing for money – only points, therefore their game does not fall under “gambling.” However, they were still in violation of Section 8 of the Playing Cards Act of 1935, which states that it is a crime to possess more than 120 playing cards at a time.

Read more here.