Thailand to forge ahead with casino plan after public green light
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Most forms of gambling are currently illegal in Thailand.
PHOTO: PEXELS
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BANGKOK – Thailand’s new government will move ahead with plans to introduce casinos after a public hearing showed strong support for creating a big entertainment complex offering gambling, a senior official said on Sept 5.
Casinos and most forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand, but soccer betting and underground gaming activities and lotteries are rife, with vast sums of money changing hands.
Only some gambling is permitted, such as state-controlled horse races and an official lottery.
The conclusion of the public hearing conducted online over a Bill to establish a “mega entertainment complex” housing a casino showed 80 per cent of participants agreed with the plan, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said.
“We will now adjust the Bill based on the feedback and discuss this with our coalition partners before sending it to the Cabinet for approval,” Mr Julapun told reporters.
Several Thai governments have pushed to legalise gambling before to try to boost jobs and state revenues and draw more foreign tourists, but each attempt met with pushback from conservatives in the Buddhist-majority country.
One of the first advocates of legalising gambling was influential billionaire and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in as prime minister removed from office by a court decision
The Bill is centred on the creation of a broader entertainment complex, but its passage would effectively legalise casinos.
In South-east Asia, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines have legalised casinos, some of which are located on the other side of Thailand’s borders, catering overwhelmingly to Thai and Chinese customers, many on weekend junkets.
Ms Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai Party has argued that Thailand has fallen behind its neighbours in the gaming industry.
Her father, Thaksin, is widely seen as a major force behind her government and in a dinner speech in August he backed the casino plan, noting the potential benefits from regulating and taxing online gambling and formalising the larger underground economy. REUTERS
