Thailand’s House of Representatives is scheduled to review a legislation to officially legalize casino gaming in Thailand on March 28, based on the information provided in the report in the Nation newspaper on March 19, quoting comment from deputy finance minister, Julapun Amornvivat.
The study that led to the bill:
In the event that the House validates the said bill, it will be filed to to the Thai National Cabinet for validation. In this regard, Mr Julapun said according to GGRAsia: “The bill has been drafted and submitted to the House. The next step will depend on the House’s decision. If the House approves it, I’ll pass it on to the Cabinet to deliberate and the final decision will depend on the Cabinet.”
However, the report didn’t specify what role, if any, the Senate will play in the review of the bill.
At the beginning of this month, a designated House committee completed a study on the topic of casino legalization. In addition, the study was aired in the Assembly for the duration of few years. The Committee has now summed up its discoveries in the legislation, which is rumored to be made up of 10 chapters and 68 articles.
According to the study, if casinos are constructed in the country, the average spending by tourists could rise 52% to THB65,050, which is approximately US$1,785, Bloomberg reports, quoting information from the study.
One more report in The Nation on March 19, also quoting the deputy minister, said that the Thailand’s national law enforcement agency, the Royal Thai Police, suggested that if casinos were to be legalized, access to them should be reduced to stem social issues like problem gambling and money laundering by law breakers.
Clients of any casino in the country should have an obligation to provide information regarding their nationality, financial status and age, police recommended, according to the report. However, the police also suggested that casino facilities be constructed only at a distance from educational institutions and local communities.
Thailand’s House of Representatives forms Thai House Committee to examine possibility of legal casinos:
In other news, during October of last year, the aforementioned House of Representatives has agreed to establish a committee of 60 members to look into the possible opening of entertainment facilities, involving casinos, to tackle the long-running problem of non-legal casinos and improve the economy of the country, as suggested in a motion tabled by members of parliament (MPs) from different parties.
Relatedly, tourism operators have nothing against the official legalization of casinos in the country. However, they are more concerned that the benefits of this could be more evident in certain interest groups. Furthermore, operators from Phuket feel that the entire casino business should be placed in second-tier provinces instead of main tourist destinations.