Thai government rules out igaming as part of the Entertainment Complex Bill
The Thai government has confirmed that igaming will not be part of its Entertainment Complex Bill.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Finance’s 150th Anniversary Building in Bangkok on Wednesday 4 June, government officials were clear that online gambling is not part its current push for land-based gaming.
However, it did not expressly rule out the introduction of igaming as part of any future legislation.
The press briefing was held on the eve of the Thai Entertainment Complex Roundtable, which is being organized by Inside Asian Gaming.
Deputy Minister of Finance Julapun Amornvivat and Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister Suksit Srichomkwan led the briefing and have been helming the government’s public information campaign around the introduction of entertainment complexes to Thailand.
The Entertainment Complex Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament in Thailand, will pave the way for the introduction of integrated resorts in the region, legalizing casino gaming within large-scale, multi-billion-dollar entertainment complexes.
The Entertainment Complex Bill is under some pressure to pass through the legislative process within the next two years of the current parliamentary term, to avoid it lapsing.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the minimum investment for each entertainment complex would be THB100 billion, with the government expecting average spend per visitor to the country to be increased from between THB6,000 and THB7,000 currently to as much as THB22,000.
Speaking at the press briefing yesterday, Suksit called on stakeholders to attend today’s roundtable event. “I would like to invite everyone to attend and listen to this event to see what kind of investment vision each operator sees for Thailand.
“What are the specifics and what kinds of measures do they have in mind? You can reach out to them if you want more details but we’re already using that input to help shape the draft law.”
Despite attempts to bring the public onboard, there have been vocal critics to the bill. In February, 30 representatives from a Thai youth network against gambling submitted a petition to the Prime Minister of Thailand asking them to reconsider the legalization of online gambling.
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