PUBLISHED : 4 May 2025 at 14:18
Casinos that are parts of the government’s entertainment complex policy will encourage “responsible gambling”, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Sunday.
In her monthly “Empowering Thais” programme, Ms Paetongtarn said that there would be criteria and regulations to govern legalised casinos.
The profiles of visitors from all countries could be checked, including criminal records, and they must have enough wealth to meet criteria, the prime minister said.
“Entertainment complexes will not lead Thailand to its worst vices… Developed countries like Singapore, the US, Japan and the UAE follow this global trend. They know that sand, sun, sea are not enough any longer. There must be manmade (attractions). We don’t want Thailand to miss the trend,” Ms Paetongtarn said.
After the Osaka Expo 2025, Japan will turn the island that is the venue of the exposition into an entertainment complex, a manmade destination, in five years, she cited.
“With entertainment complexes, there will not be a low season in Thailand,” Ms Paetongtarn said.
The prime minister stressed that casinos would be only a part of entertainment complexes that would also feature concert halls and hotels.
Huge investment in entertainment complexes would come from the private sector, not from the government or taxpayers’ money, Ms Paetongtarn said.
“The investment will enable the government to collect more taxes… Tax will be collected from casino visitors,” the prime minister said.
Ms Paetongtarn said that the government would implement the casino model of Singapore, as Japan and the United Arab Emirates did.
She said that opponents were criticising the entertainment complex for political gain and creating misunderstanding.
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