Thailand’s headlong, haphazard effort to legalize casino resorts is off again. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government postponed submission of the so-called Entertainment Complex legislation on April 9, a day before lawmakers were due to begin debating the bill. No clarity yet on when the government will submit the bill.
The government says it withdrew the legislation due to uncertainty amid US induced global economic chaos, days after an official suggested entertainment complexes could offset the impact of US higher tariffs.
There’s speculation that public opposition to expanding gambling or political infighting was behind the withdrawal. Sources tell me that government officials realize Thailand must improve its regulatory framework to get leading casino companies to participate.
“I think they have listened to the pros and experts and are making sure the Is are getting dotted and the Ts are getting crossed,” Bangkok based David Leppo of playexpat.com and CheckMate Mitigation says. “They have one shot at getting it right so the major players can actually open up and operate here in Thailand without risking any gaming licenses they currently have in other jurisdictions.”
Leading gaming industry figures and many of Thailand’s top business groups are enthusiastic about creating integrated resorts in the kingdom. But throughout the casino legalization process, it’s been clear Thailand’s government has not done its homework to create a legal structure to support billions in integrated resort investment.
This pause gives Thailand a chance fully realize its potential to create IRs to boost tourism and tax revenue. Thailand’s experience with cannabis legalization remains a sobering precedent.
Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for iGaming Business, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and now on Blue Sky @MuhammadCohen.bsky.social.