No shutdowns imminent
Two casino resorts in Myanmar are being monitored by government officials to ensure that they are operating within the law—even though casinos are officially illegal in the country.
According to the Myanmar Times, the resorts—the Grand Andaman on Thahtay Island and Victoria Entertainment on Treasure Island—have been in business since the 1900s, and the government has looked the other way because they operate offshore and were grandfathered in by a previous government. Small private gambling clubs can also be found in some cities, the publication reported.
Now the National League for Democracy is looking to see if the island-based operations are permissible under the 1899 Burma Gambling Act, regional Chief Minister Daw Lae Maw said. “We don’t know what the previous government allowed them to do, but we are translating all the agreements from English to Myanmar in order to check. It seems that they are only permitted to offer gambling with token coins,” or slot machines.
Even if the regional government finds the casinos are operating illegally, it will not shut them down, but tighten restrictions and monitor compliance, she added.
“I have already met with U Kyaw Lwin, the owner of Grand Andaman Resort, to negotiate,” the chief minister said. “The contract covers small-scale gambling. It does not allow 200 people to travel to the island each day to gamble large sums of money.”
Each casino resort pays K250 million annually in taxes to the Union government, according to official data. U Myo Win Than, executive director of Grand Andaman Travel & Tours Co. Ltd., said the previous administrations allowed the casinos to operate to boost tourism, and Daw Lae Maw did not threaten closure.
“The Tanintharyi Region chief minister told us that if our operations were not in line with the 1899 Gambling Act, we should try to follow the rules and laws and help promote tourism in Kawthoung Township, because other businesses in the area are not doing well,” he said. “She never once mentioned that she would shut the casino down.” The local company received Myanmar Investment Commission approval to invest US$12.14 million in the project last year.
“This pilot project to boost tourism over the past 20 years was started by the government itself. When we bought the resort in 2015, we were given a 50-year license to operate,” U Myo Win Than said.
The resort employs more than 900 staff, reported the Times.
