Political blogging experts and social media activists in Thailand face frustration against their lack of liberty to express themselves at will. Thailand´s government uses two ways to censor and control the net. Firstly, by setting up an online roadblock –which already has stopped 32,500 pages- and secondly, through a government body that monitors the websites.

The increase of internet usage across the country has caused some concerns between political leaders. Thailand focuses their internet censorship energies on social issues, especially those related to online pornography, political separatists, and gambling. But their priorities are those cyber opinions that threaten the regime’s stability.

The Thailand government has invested millions of dollars for an internet gateway that will prevent any harsh comments on the country’s supreme monarch. The same system crosses out sites owned by terrorists. The Thailand Ministry of Information and Communication Technology works closely with the companies that provide internet in the country. If the companies do not block websites which have been asked to by the government body, these businesses could lose their licenses or have their networking area limited.

Local internet providers, fearing sanctions, follow the Thai internet censorship. In more than four years, the country’s communication ministry has blocked about 15,000 websites. Today, the number of websites blocked is unknown and the reasons remain hidden to the public. This year, the Thailand government has officially endorsed Twitter’s ‘country-by-country’ censorship policy. Twitter’s new policy allows for restrictions of ‘certain types of content’ for various ‘cultural reasons.’

By reading some scholarly articles and journals, I found that Thailand is one of the most engaged countries in the world to practice internet filtering. Thailand is also listed as “Not Free” by Freedom on the Net 2011 report by Freedom house which works on censorship and freedom on the internet (read report here). Moreover, Thailand is listed in Internet Enemies Under Surveillance by Reporters Without Borders as of March 2011 (read report here). By restricting the freedom to use the net, the Thai government is converting political, social and religious subjects into a taboo.

The future of global internet freedom looks dark in spite of the growth of Thai net users. Private companies respond with more innovation to cyber security instead of promoting news ways to implement a democracy,due to fear.

Future Thai generations will see their political and social knowledge being dwindled, in spite of the new ways that modern technologies offer citizens to build a democracy. Despite the Thai government’s wish to control Thai residents’ online activities, the internet is too vital in this new era, where foreign companies look at these kind of issues in order to decide whether to invest in a country or not.

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A Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing will explore how Indian tribes could be impacted by the recent U.S. Department of Justice opinion that permits states to allow all forms of online betting that do not involve sports.

After numerous hearings over the past months on the opportunity to regulate Internet gambling, Michael Waxman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, issued the following statement that calls on Congress to adopt federal legislation that regulates the industry in order to best protect consumers.

“There is no question that the recent Justice Department opinion has increased pressure on Congress to move on legislation to regulate Internet gambling activity. If the main objective of regulation is to protect consumers, this can be best achieved through federal legislation that sets the strict standard for licensing operators, requires the most innovative safeguards be put in place and stringently monitors all gambling and financial activity.

Alternatively, states being left to develop a patchwork of regulatory structures will not encourage national collaboration to monitor the many operators expected to offer services and ensure the utilization of state-of-the-art technologies to protect consumers and combat fraud and money laundering. Moreover, the time to move is now, as numerous states are starting to move quickly to create Internet gambling programs.

“The federal regulation of Internet gambling should respect the rights of Indian sovereignty, reinforce states’ rights and utilize the enforcement expertise of existing regulatory bodies – all objectives proposed in pending legislation to regulate the industry. Indian tribes should be able to apply for a license and become an Internet gambling operator or set any restrictions they wish on the activity within their respective geographic borders.

“Hearings are valuable for providing information, but the facts haven’t changed since Congress first started to explore the need to regulate Internet gambling – without regulation consumers are left unprotected and all of the economic benefits that could be gained for controlling the activity will continue to be lost to offshore operators.

“Congress should immediately consider pending bills introduced by Reps. Campbell and Barton which provide a path to requiring licensed operators to put in place practical and enforceable standards to control Internet gambling activity, protect consumers and respect Indian sovereignty.

The upside for the Campbell bill is wider protections and opportunities for economic benefits through more jobs and government revenue.”

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In December, 2011 US Gaming Survey in conjunction with the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), conducted a comprehensive panel survey of current and former online poker players to help the PPA and poker sites understand the nuances of online poker player behavior. The survey also elicited opinions regarding the recent crackdown of online poker operators by the federal government known as “Black Friday.”

The study was a resounding success. The U.S. Online Poker Survey was completed by over 82% of visitors resulting in over 8,000 responses. Respondents represented all 50 states as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico and 10% of those who completed the survey were female.

Moreover, 2,400 respondents provided valuable information and feedback related to the law enforcement crackdowns on Black Friday and explained how it could potentially influence their future poker play and wagering decisions.

The results illustrated various behavioral aspects of the online poker player and yielded surprising information about the link between online poker and lottery sales. Many states have expressed concern that licensed and regulated online poker would cannibalize lottery revenue but the survey showed this is not true.

The results from the survey clearly illustrated that U.S. online poker players tend to play the lottery but do so conservatively and their poker play has little effect on their lottery purchases. The survey also showed that poker players would prefer to play in a regulated, safe environment and are not deeply concerned with paying taxes on poker winnings.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the results,” Larry Gibbs, VP of Research at US Gaming Survey replied. “The information from this survey has helped all involved understand the benefits of licensed and regulated online poker.

It clearly shows that poker players want regulated online poker and are willing to abide by federal or state preferences to get it. The resulting information and detailed analysis will undoubtedly support the PPA’s effort in urging the U.S government to legislate online poker in the near future.”

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