Thailand’s prime minister said on Tuesday she had been warned by China’s leader President Xi Jinping about social problems that could arise if her country legalised casinos.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Mr Xi’s comments were made to her last week during her official visit to China (pictured). Earlier this year, China had raised with Thailand concerns about kidnapping risks for its holidaying citizens, due to scam operations in places bordering Thailand.
In the Thai premier’s comments cited by the Bangkok Post newspaper, she indicated China’s leader had asked for more information about Thailand’s plans for ‘entertainment complexes’, as they are named locally.
Ms Shinawatra said Mr Xi cautioned her that legalising casinos could lead to a number of social problems. She stated she told him that further studies on the project were being carried out before any such legalisation could be approved.
Thailand’s cabinet had on January 13 approved in principle the Entertainment Complex Bill for casino liberalisation, according to a statement at the time by the prime minister.
The draft legislation was to be scrutinised by the country’s law-advisory body the Council of State before it is sent to the lower house of the National Assembly for discussion and approval, the prime minister had stated after a weekly cabinet meeting.
The Bangkok Post said on Wednesday – citing government sources – that the deadline for such checks would be March 6.
The outlet quoted Pakorn Nilprapunt, the council’s secretary-general, as saying that the advisory body was working on fine-tuning the bill, with revisions expected to be completed early next month.
Mr Pakorn reportedly said the revised version would be quite different from the original, but the key points would remain intact.
On Monday the news outlet cited a former Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, criticising the Thai government’s plan to legalise land-based casinos and online betting in the country, saying such steps would worsen social problems there that are associated with gambling.
A recent casino industry conference in Bangkok, the Thai capital, heard suggestions from industry experts that the kingdom should not expect to rely on Chinese travellers as customers if it does legalise casinos, given China’s ongoing campaign against “overseas gambling”.
Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal, and the mainland authorities have a long-standing public policy campaign against “overseas” gambling by mainland residents.
Last week China’s Ministry of Public Security said in update on its 2024 enforcement work against illegal gambling, that cross-departmental efforts had been made on the mainland, in enforcing China’s “blacklist system” regarding foreign gambling destinations frequented by Chinese tourists.
China has also raised previously with Cambodia and the Philippines concern about licensed online gambling based in those countries, having targeted its citizens.
Since the turn of the year, the Philippines has required the closure of online offshore gaming operators that had previously been licensed to serve foreign customers. The authorities say the sector had become associated with criminal activity including fraud and tax evasion.
