A twelve year old boy jumped six floors to his death in Thailand after his father forbade him from playing computer games.¬† Even though Internet gambling is not the cause of the boy’s death, the Thai Criminal Court has ordered seventy-two Internet gambling sites to be closed down.

The court instructed the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to shut down all sites that promoted addictive computer games.  The websites that have been shut down included sites that allowed players to make online bets, and also sites that promoted or enticed people to go to sites on which they could gamble.

Thailand’s Internet service providers were informed of the court order, and were also told that if it was found that they had provided Internet gambling access, or even encouraged online gambling, they would stand to lose much, such as fine, licenses, and even possible prison terms.

The director of the Rajanagarindra Child and Adolescent Mental Health Institute said that children need discipline from an early age, rather than a ban on games, and that the best way to deal with adolescent gaming issues is by using positive communication.

There are those that are of the opinion that the court does not have the jurisdiction to order the shut down of the gaming websites.¬† It seems that the court is looking for someone to blame for the boy’s death, and online gambling, as an adult version of computer games, seems to be the one they have picked to take the fall.