The lower house at Thailand’s National Assembly (pictured) is to consider on March 28 a bill to legalise casino business, according to a Tuesday report in The Nation newspaper, citing comment by Julapun Amornvivat, deputy finance minister.
If the body – the House of Representatives – approves it, the official said the bill would be submitted to the country’s national Cabinet for approval.
“The bill has been drafted and submitted to the House,” Mr Julapun was quoted as saying.
“The next step will depend on the House’s decision. If the House approves it, I’ll pass it on to the Cabinet to deliberate and the final decision will depend on the Cabinet.”
The report did not clarify what role – if any – the upper house, the Senate, would have in consideration of the bill.
According to the outlet, earlier this month, a special House committee finished a study on the casino legalisation topic – which has been aired in the Assembly over the course of several years.
The committee has now summarised its findings in a bill said to consist of 10 chapters and 68 articles.
Another report in The Nation on Tuesday – also citing the deputy minister – said that the country’s national law-enforcement agency, the Royal Thai Police, had recommended that, were casino legalisation to go ahead, there should be some restrictions on access, to prevent social problems such as money laundering by criminals, and problem gambling.
Users of any Thai casinos should be required to submit information on their age and financial status as well as nationality, it was suggested by the police, according to the report.
The police also proposed that casino complexes should only be built at a distance from local communities and from educational institutions.
