Myanmar’s parliament is expected to act soon to approve a bill authorizing the establishment of foreigners-only casinos.
A report by English-language daily The Myanmar Times said the bill, which includes recommendations from President Win Myint, confers legalization, with the regulatory details to be formulated later.
“We are left behind as most of our neighbors have casinos. If the casino operators don’t come here, they will go to other countries,” said U Aung Hlaing Win, Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Mingaladon constituency.
“We can no longer ignore the illegal casinos operating at the border,” agreed Myat Nyarna Soe, secretary of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Joint Bill Committee, referring to unregulated gaming halls clustered along the border with Thailand, which like Myanmar does not allow casino gaming.
“We need to legalize casinos in the country and set rules and regulations to make operations systematic. The new industry will also help with tax revenues. We managed to draft the regulations and Hluttaw needs to approve it.”
The measure is believed to provide for casinos that will operate within hotels in the two principal cities𑁋Yangon, the largest city and the country’s commercial center, and Mandalay𑁋but will be restricted to foreigners who will need to furnish passport verification.
Myanmar currently is home to two legal casinos operating on the southern resort islands Tha Htay and Yadana, both set up in the 1990s under a pilot program endorsed by the former military government.
There are, however, several more operating outside central government control in the so-called “Golden Triangle” region in the far north of the country where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet and official authority is limited by conflicts with ethnic-minority groups.
The casino bill, jointly drafted by the Ministry for Union Government Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs, is being driven mainly by a need to boost the tourist economy, which has suffered as a result of political unrest and insurgent uprisings. Some figures indicate annual tourist arrivals have plunged in recent years to less than 300,000.
But it’s also hoped that regulation will ultimately bring the border casinos under the country’s authority for oversight and taxation purposes.
While Myanmar citizens will be allowed to do business with and work at the casinos, they will not be able to gamble, and those who attempt to get around the law will be fined, face jail time or have their business operations shut down.
“Once a tip-off is received, (police) will have to make a search and gather evidence,” said U Aung Hlaing Win. “If any locals are arrested, it will be followed by punishment. All involved in gambling will be arrested. Provisions are clearer and stricter.”
Myat Nyarna Soe, secretary of parliament’s Joint Bill Committee, told the Times the government “can no longer ignore the illegal casinos.”
“We need to legalize casinos in the country and set rules and regulations to make operations systematic,” he said. “The new industry will also help with tax revenues. We managed to draft the regulations and (parliament) needs to approve it.”
Pyithu Hluttaw MP U Aung Hlaing Win said the government will benefit from a new revenue stream in the form of gaming taxes. “In the international community, such as in Singapore, the government targets foreigners and receives tax revenues from the casino as well as on each round of gambling. If casinos are permitted in Myanmar as soon as possible, the country’s tax revenue will increase,” he said. Casinos are also expected to attract more tourists to the country.
Myanmar and Thailand are the only two countries in Southeast Asia that do not have casinos.
