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Thailand’s Cabinet has approved and will send to parliament a draft Integrated Entertainment Business Act that would legalise integrated resort casino operations, while the government doubles down on its desire to regulate online gambling.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters on Monday (January 13) that the government will aim for passage of the bill before the end of 2025, creating a market whose size is tantalising global casino heavy-hitters.
She dismissed several media reports that the Council of State, a legal advisory and drafting organ under the Prime Minister, is opposing the bill over technical flaws and insufficient emphasis on tourism development.
Instead, she said, the council suggested amendments to the draft to better accord with government policy on tourism.
Council of State secretary-general Pakorn Nilprapunt confirmed on Monday that the body had offered revisions rather than object to the bill, including a widening of focus on tourism promotion, stronger stipulation of non-gaming investment and the separate updating of archaic gambling legislation.
The Prime Minister said an entertainment resort law will accelerate tourism and economic development, as well as combine with better enforcement practices to stem problem gambling and gambling-linked crime.
“If we can ensure transparency, it will benefit the country,” the Bangkok Post quoted her as saying.
“This issue is relatively new here, so we need to explain it clearly. Ministries concerned will address the details to ensure everyone gets the whole picture.”
The bill has come under attack in recent weeks from anti-gambling groups over an alleged diluting of non-gaming obligations for operators.
But deputy finance minister Julapun Amornvivat said this week that the bill retains its integrated entertainment character, with provision for hotels, arenas, large events, theme parks and shopping malls, among other attractions.
Julapun said the Council of State will continue to review the bill before it is sent back to Cabinet for a final sign-off before being presented to parliament in the next two months.
However, his comment appeared to contradict the Prime Minister, who said on Monday that the council does not need to examine the bill further.
Julapun predicted a mandated investment of 100bn to 200bn baht ($2.9bn to $5.8bn) per entertainment complex, but that each casino alone would generate revenue between 120bn and 240bn baht annually from a foreign tourist pool expanding at around 5 to 10 percent a year.
“These entertainment complexes would help boost spending of tourists during the low-season by some 13 percent, thus narrowing the gap of income between high and low seasons in tourism,” The Nation daily quoted Julapun as saying.
“They will also create from 9,000 to 15,000 jobs for local communities,” he said.
When the draft Integrated Entertainment Business Act was released for public feedback last August, it contained provisions for a 30-year licence with maximum ten-year extension, capped annual licence fees at 5bn baht for the first year then 1bn baht thereafter, minimum paid-up capital of 10bn baht, various capped licence application fees and the mandatory operation of at least four non-gaming attractions from an approved list.
Macau’s Chinese gambling operators are leading gambling industry excitement over a nascent Thai casino market, with Melco Resorts & Entertainment opening a office in Bangkok and Galaxy Entertainment Group expressing strong interest in securing an elusive foreign footprint there.
Macau’s US operators match that enthusiasm. Las Vegas Sands has coveted a potential Thai market since the Sheldon Adelson era, while Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International have also displayed active engagement with the Thai authorities.
Meanwhile, the Thai government on Monday reiterated its determination to create a regulated online gambling market, with the digital economy minister referring to a full-court press by Cabinet ministries to prepare draft legislation as soon as possible.
Just seven days after floating legalisation of online gambling and the need to combat a runaway underground gambling ecosystem and human trafficking matrix that sprawls across Southeast Asia and China, Prasert Jantararuangtong told a news conference that bringing online in from the cold is imperative.
“Bringing online gambling out from under ground and giving it legal status is an urgent government policy,” Prasert said, according to the Bangkok Post.
“That's the principle. Illegal online gambling is commonplace these days, and we're trying to make it legal.”
Prasert said his ministry is developing the technological framework for an online market while preparing a procedural document to guide other departments on regulatory best practice.
