A high-powered committee including Thailand’s prime minister, a deputy prime minister and five ministers, will sit on what it is termed a “Policy Committee” to steer Thailand’s casino policy effort, according to a recently-released draft of a bill on the matter.
Also on the committee will be the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, the Secretary-General of the Anti-Money Laundering Office, and the Secretary-General of the Board of Investment.
Casinos would be housed in what the Thai authorities term “entertainment complexes”.
Draft rules envisaging that any authorised Thai casinos could have an initial licence running for 30 years have been published for the purposes of public feedback until August 18. Such licences would have the potential to be renewed for a period of not more than 10 years.
The draft states that the Policy Committee will be responsible for setting the policies for entertainment venues. It will also propose guidelines for determining the number of licences and areas for operating such complexes, as well as recommend tax rates for casino businesses.
The Policy Committee will additionally determine the “criteria, methods and conditions” for companies to apply for a licence, stated the document. The body will also be responsible for granting such permits, renewing their licences and deciding on fees to be paid.
According to the draft, a large-scale entertainment venue can only be located in an area specified by a Royal Decree. Aside from a casino, it must contain “at least” four other types of entertainment businesses, which can be chosen from a list included in the draft.
The list encompasses hotels; restaurants, bars and nightclubs; sport stadiums; yacht and cruise clubs; department stores; water parks; amusement parks; and venues for promoting Thai culture.
Such entertainment venues may only be operated by a limited company or a public limited company registered in Thailand, which must have a paid-up capital of at least THB10 billion (US$281.9 million).
The document proposes a fee of THB100,000 to apply for a permit. If granted, a company will have to pay a THB5 billion fee, on top of annual payments to the government. Each casino resort would require at least THB100 billion in investment.
