Thailand’s Council of State has been handed a 50-day deadline to complete a review of the country’s entertainment complex bill before it moves on to the House of Representatives for consideration, according to a report by The Bangkok Post.
The update was provided by Secretary-General of the Council, Pakorn Nilprapunt, the media outlet said, who revealed the government is treating passage of the bill as urgent.
Pakorn also dismissed suggestions the matter of legalizing casinos should be put to the public by way of referendum, insisting the Council did not have the authority to push for one and that any unnecessary delays to the timeline would prove too costly for the economy. The development of entertainment complexes with casino gaming is seen as a key pillar in Thailand’s push to grow its tourism industry.
As reported by IAG, the Cabinet has already approved the entertainment complex bill which has now been sent to parliament for further consideration. The bill must pass through the House of Representatives and then the Upper House before becoming law.
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.
