Thailand’s Senate has set up two subcommittees to look respectively at social aspects of a casino legalisation policy, and potential economic impacts.
That is according to the Bangkok Post newspaper in a Friday report.
The subcommittees are expected to complete their work and submit their findings and recommendations to the main Senate committee – representing the upper chamber of Thailand’s National Assembly (pictured) – before the end of July, the news outlet said, citing Thursday comment by what it said was a source from the special committee.
A bidding process on anticipated Thai casino resort licences is likely to take more time than expected, as a lack of preparatory work and missteps regarding communication with the public had been hampering the legalisation process.
That was the message this Wednesday by participants at a panel session of the conference segment of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2025 casino industry trade show and conference held in Macau.
Thailand’s national government – a coalition featuring the Pheu Thai party as a leading element – is expected to submit its Entertainment Complex Bill to the assembly for consideration in early July. The Senate committee’s findings should be available in time to inform the parliamentary discussions, the source said.
In early April, Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, asked for a postponement of a reading of the Entertainment Complex Bill in parliament, due to more urgent government business.
The news outlet cited also comment by Senator Veerapun Suvannamai, chairman of a Senate special committee on the casino issue, under which the subcommittees will work.
Mr Veerapun indicated that at the main committee’s next meeting on May 15, it planned to invite the current prime minister and former prime ministers, including Thaksin Shinawatra – who is also father of the current prime minister – for discussions on the project.
The Bangkok Post reported Mr Veerapun noting that although the prime minister might opt to assign a representative to attend on her behalf, his committee hopes that she will appear in person.
According to the report, the first subcommittee has been tasked with examining possible adverse effects on society of ‘entertainment complexes’ as resorts with casinos are known in Thailand.
It would also look at “legal proceedings, the environment, urban planning, the constitution, national development strategies, and the process of conducting a public referendum, as required for major policy changes under Section 77 of the constitution,” stated the news outlet.
The second subcommittee will study the potential economic impacts of the project. This may also extend to online gambling, which remains illegal in Thailand “and would need to be legalised if it were to be included as part of the entertainment complex,” said the Bangkok Post.
