A second study on the possible legalization of casino resorts in Thailand has reportedly been completed and will be put to the country’s House of Representatives next week.
According to The Bangkok Post, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, who chairs the 60-member House committee that conducted the study, said Tuesday that the study is now done and is comprehensive in its nature.
Should the House adopt the findings of the study, it will then be forwarded to the cabinet for approval and implementation.
“If this is realized, it could generate huge revenue for the country,” said Sorawong Thienthong, Secretary-general of the Pheu Thai Party and vice chairman of the House committee. “What we emphasize is entertainment complexes. Casinos would be a small part of such complexes.”
He added that bidding operators would be required to meet the total investment of such integrated resorts, with the government to then issue licences, collect taxes and set conditions around the location of the complexes, which “must not be adjacent to Bangkok,” according to the report.
As previously reported by IAG, this current 60-member committee, established after Thailand appointed the Pheu Thai Party’s Srettha Thavisin as its Prime Minister under a new coalition government in August, is different from the one formed under the previous government and which compiled a report proposing the establishment of integrated resorts with casinos in various locations across the country.
That report recommended the development of legalized casinos within broader entertainment complexes in up to five locations nationwide, with Bangkok and Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) – which includes the likes of Pattaya and Rayong – named as the most suitable locations.
It also called for casino areas to comprise no more than 5% of the total IR floor space, with the remainder to incorporate attractions such as five-star hotels, shopping malls, beauty and spa parlours, amusement parks, zoos, and indoor and outdoor sports stadiums.
Entry to casinos would be open to foreigners and locals of 21 years and above although the latter would need to show that they held at least THB500,000 (US$15,000) in their accounts for the previous six months.
Integrated resorts with gaming are seen as an opportunity to combat Thailand’s significant underground casino problem.
