A draft law that will if passed legalize casino gaming across the country has been approved by Thailand’s Cabinet and will now be sent to parliament for deliberation, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has revealed.
According to The Bangkok Post, the draft bill on entertainment complexes was passed on Monday with Paetongtarn telling reporters, “Legalization will protect the public and would also generate more state revenue.”
The bill must now pass through the House of Representatives and then the Upper House before becoming law, although each house typically takes months to pass a bill across three required readings.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat has stated that legalized casinos within entertainment complexes (integrated resorts) could drive an increase in foreign visitation of between 5% and 10% and increase tourism revenue by up to TBH220 billion (US$6.3 billion) while creating up to 15,000 new jobs.
The bill outlines plans to develop large-scale entertainment venues to be operated by private companies with a minimum paid-up capital of at least TBH 10 billion (US$285 million).
It has been recommended that the gaming areas in legalized IRs should not exceed 5% of the total project area, with the remainder to be utilized for complementary hotel and entertainment offerings. The bill also calls for the projects to be joint investments between the government and private operators, which could follow a concession model similar to that utilized in Macau.
While the exact number and locations of such IRs has yet to be determined, the most recent reports suggest five licenses may be issued including two in Bangkok.
Among the global IR operators to have expressed interest in Thailand are Las Vegas Sands, Genting Singapore, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts and MGM Resorts – the latter revealing last year that any bid it makes for a Thai IR license would be done through its Macau subsidiary, MGM China.
Thailand’s government has previously stated its confidence that the draft bill on entertainment complexes will pass through both houses of parliament to become law in 2025, possibly as early as mid-year.
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