Posted on: January 13, 2025, 10:32h.
Last updated on: January 13, 2025, 10:41h.
Legislation to bring casinos to Thailand received the blessing of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s Cabinet on Monday, a major development in the Pheu Thai Party’s aspirations to increase tourism in the kingdom.
On Monday, Paetongtarn’s Cabinet signed off on a draft law that seeks to authorize large-scale “entertainment complexes” in four cities — Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. The Cabinet’s blessing followed a public consultation and revision period from relevant agencies.
Paetongtarn, who assumed office last August, has made it a focal point of her premiership to improve Thailand’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism.
The objectives are to increase revenue, support investment in Thailand, and solve illegal gambling,” Paetongtarn told reporters.
Paetongtarn’s government estimates that large-scale entertainment complexes featuring gambling, often called integrated resorts elsewhere in Southeast Asia, would grow foreign visitor numbers by 5% to 10%. Tourism spending would be expected to increase from about 120 billion baht to 220 billion baht, or roughly $3.45 billion to $6.32 billion.
Government Opposition
Paetongtarn is a member of the powerful and influential Shinawatra family. Paetongtarn is the fourth family member to serve as prime minister of Thailand.
The family is among the wealthiest in the country. At the direction of her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, the Shinawatra’s hope is to become even richer through the development of casino resorts.
Thaksin, the 23rd prime minister of Thailand who served from February 2001 through September 2006, has encouraged his daughter to push for Singapore-like casino destinations. The billionaire family would likely bid on one of the five development opportunities should the Cabinet casino bill find support in the National Assembly.
Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party is the controlling party. But there is opposition, including the Council of State, the government’s legal advisor.
The Council, which is first reviewing the Cabinet casino draft before moving the legislation to Parliament, has initially opposed the measure. The body reasons that authorizing new forms of legal gambling, which is currently limited to a state-run lottery and parimutuel wagering, doesn’t align with the Kingdom’s historical values.
The Council has also raised concerns that the bill as drafted doesn’t do enough to ensure that legal gambling would rid illegal enterprises. The government advisory additionally wants the legislation to come with minimum requirements for entertainment complexes like hotels, convention halls, nongaming attractions such as amusement parks, and retail shopping.
Jobs, Revenue
The ninth-largest economy in Asia as of 2023 with a gross domestic product of about 18 trillion baht (US$520 billion), Thailand is considered a newly industrialized country, or a nation that hasn’t yet reached developed status. The industrial and service sectors remain Thailand’s primary economic drivers.
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly damaged Thailand’s economy because it hammered tourism, which before the coronavirus accounted for almost 20% of the country’s GDP. Casinos would be expected to attract new visitors to Thailand and create between 9K to 15K jobs.
Government forecasts believe a mature casino market with five properties would generate annual gross gaming revenue of approximately US$9.1 billion. With the draft bill suggesting an effective tax of 17% on GGR, the state could receive more than $1.5 billion a year from casino gambling.
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