Scrutiny is intensifying over the relationship between the crypto casino Shuffle.com and a Thai member of parliament.
Former politician Sirichok Sopha has called for an investigation into the role played by Bhumjaithai MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap in Shuffle blocking players due to her husband Zhang Taiyang holding a 1% shareholding.
According to the Bangkok Post, Sirichock accused Shuffle of choosing to block Thai players rather than being forced to do so by the country’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DSE).
He has asked the authorities to investigate whether Taiyang was involved in the decision, as blocking Thai players occurred at the same time that scrutiny over the finances began.
Sirichock wrote on Facebook: “What I find suspicious is this: Shuffle.com previously allowed Thais to play. But during a period of intense scrutiny in Thailand — scrutiny into the financial trails and connections to Mr. Taiyang Zhang, husband of Ms. Suchada Taensat — an announcement was made blocking players from Thailand.
“I find this highly suspicious. Why would a website that had been accepting Thai players change its policy at the exact moment it was becoming news in Thailand?”
The former MP alleged that though Zhang holds just a 1% share in the Curaçao-licensed crypto casino, he is privy to extensive financial information related to the business and its decision-making process.
Zhang co-founded the decentralised digital asset platform Ren Protocol before selling it to Alameda Research in 2021, the same company that Shuffle Founder Noah Dummet worked at as a trader during this time period.
SHFL coin, the cryptocurrency associated with Shuffle, has grown over 54% in the last month at the time of writing, and Sirichock questioned the extent to which Zhang will benefit from this financial success, or the 600m baht paid out in dividends to people connected to the company.
Shuffle is reported to generate $100m in annualised net gaming revenue each year, and ranks as the third largest crypto casino in the world.
Sirichock added: “I believe the NACC, AMLO, the Cyber Crime Police, and the DSI (Department of Special Investigation) should open investigations into the relevant matters — from whoever had the authority to order the blocking of Thai players, to the special rights of the preference shareholders, through to the financial trails and the true beneficiaries.
“Because the question today is not simply who holds shares in the Shuffle.com casino — but who gives the orders, who gets the money, and to whom that money ultimately flows.”
Online gambling is prohibited in Thailand, but the country is home to a black market that is estimated to be worth 1.1trn baht (£25.1bn) annually, underscoring the size of the player pool that Shuffle has now shut itself away from.
Although Thai authorities blocked over 600,000 URLs between October 2025 and July 2026 related to online gambling, the DSE believes that there are still millions of illegal URLs online and targeting Thai players.
