Southeast Asia’s second largest economy, The Cabinet of Thailand has approved a draft law that would legalize gambling and casinos. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the move aims to boost tourism, jobs, and investment.
The government plans to send the law to Parliament for deliberation. This would see gambling take place in large-scale entertainment complexes.
In Thailand, casinos and most forms of gambling are illegal. However, football betting and underground gaming activities and lotteries are rife, with vast sums of money changing hands.
Only some gambling are restricted, like state-controlled horse races and on an official lottery.
Neighbors, Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, and Myanmar have benefited from large casino complexes, as well as the government of Thailand has argued the absence of legal casinos means it is turning its back on revenue and not reaching its tourism potential.
Tourism is a key driver of Thailand, and the country is forecasting record visitor numbers in the next few years.
Paetongtarn told reporters that legalization will protect the public and would also generate more state revenue.
Successive Thai governments have tried to find to legalize and regulate gambling to boost the economy. Nonetheless, each attempt has faced pushback from conservatives in the Buddhist majority country.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said that the latest move could see foreign visitor numbers grow 5-10% and tourism revenue increase by about 120 billion baht to 220 billion baht or $3.45 billion to $6.32 billion.
He added that the move would create about 9,000 to 15,000 new jobs.
