Thailand’s opposition Palang Pracharath Party will oppose the entertainment complex bill currently working its way through parliament and will use the issue in a no-confidence debate it wants to initiate against the government next month.
According to The Bangkok Post, the opposition party believes legalizing casino gaming could harm the Thai people, while the entertainment complex bill itself gives too much power to the prime minister, as per comments made by deputy leader Chaimongkol Chairop.
“Couldn’t this government find other ways to generate revenue?” he is quoted as saying. “Why end up allowing the country to be tainted and damaged by this [casino legalization]?
“The irony is this government told the public in the beginning that it would focus on promoting Thailand’s soft power; but now it is ending up allowing casinos instead.”
Among the Palang Pracharath Party’s concerns are a proposal to increase the maximum casino space to 10% of the total entertainment complex area, and to locate casinos in tourism hubs rather than rural areas. On this latter issue, the party has described claims that entertainment complexes will make tourism more sustainable as a “false advertisement” and would instead harm tourism by creating gambling addiction and a higher crime rate, according to The Bangkok Post report.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the Council of State was recently handed a 50-day deadline to complete its review of the bill, which currently outlines a maximum 5% of floor space to be set aside for a casino.
It also states that such venues are to be operated by private companies with a minimum paid-up capital of at least TBH 10 billion (US$285 million). The bill 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.
RelatedPosts
