The laws exist, as does the reality.
Thailand has long been one of the world's leading sex tourism destinations, although prostitution is officially prohibited by law. But thanks to police corruption, an estimated 250,000 prostitutes mostly coming from the northeastern (Isan) region of Thailand, from ethnic minorities or from neighboring countries, especially Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos are operating in Thailand. In 2015 Havocscope said that about US$6.4 billion in annual revenue was being generated by the sex trade in Thailand's GDP. So the laws exist, as does the reality. . .