Doubts remain over casino space allocation in Thai bill

Thailand’s Council of State said on Tuesday that a consensus has not been reached yet on how much space should be set aside for casinos in the country’s Entertainment Complex bill.

Doubts remain over casino space allocation in Thai bill

The admission by the Council – which advises state entities and produces laws and regulations – came after the Finance Ministry initially proposed an allocation of 10% of the space for casinos.

However, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat acknowledged that the 10% figure could be left off the bill and added that putting a fixed figure on space allocation may not future-proof the law.

Council debates

The Council’s secretary-general Pakorn Nilpraphan added on Tuesday that the details of the bill have been debated since it was approved in principle by the Cabinet more than two weeks ago.

The Council has 50 days to present its report before it is put before parliament.

A series of discussions have taken place this month between representatives of the Finance and Interior ministries, as well as other government agencies.

Public concerns

Thai newspaper The Nation suggested that doubts over whether casinos could sprawl into a greater proportion of new entertainment complexes could raise concerns among the public.

Earlier this week a new poll by the National Institute of Development Administration on behalf of the Bangkok Post found that 59% of citizens oppose the government’s plans to introduce regulated casino complexes and online gambling. This is in contrast to last year’s public consultation process, which found that four out of five residents backed the bill.

Under the proposed legislation, five resorts will be built across the country, including conference centers, amusement parks, hotels and concert venues, as well as casinos.

Prime Minister’s pledge

On Saturday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra insisted she would address concerns that the new facilities could accelerate problem gambling.

“Entertainment complexes are not free gambling dens,” she said, before adding that the developments would “serve as a key attraction for tourists, generating new sources of income for Thailand”.

She insisted: “This is crucial because our current income is not enough to drive GDP growth.”

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