The formal reading of a bill in the lower house of Thailand’s parliament aiming to legalise so-called entertainment complexes each with a casino, is to be delayed by “about one month”, from a previously-mentioned date of July 9.
That is according to a Monday report in the Bangkok Post newspaper, citing Danuporn Punnakanta, an MP for the Pheu Thai party, a key component of the country’s current coalition government.
A likely rescheduling of a reading for the bill in the House of Representatives in the National Assembly had been flagged last week. The Bangkok Post stated on Monday – citing Pheu Thai – that the delay was “not linked to a political rift” within the coalition.
Mr Danuporn was indicated as saying Pheu Thai was working with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Office on measures to prevent Thais from becoming “addicted” to gambling, citing work done on that topic in existing regional casino jurisdictions Macau and Singapore.
The news outlet said the MP had been asked whether the delay on the casino enabling bill had been due to coalition member the Bhumjaithai Party leaving the government, and reports of public opposition to the bill. The latter has included a petition submitted to Thailand’s Election Commission. It called on the country’s government to hold a national referendum on the legalisation of casinos.
Mr Danuporn was cited saying he had held talks with many Bhumjaithai MPs about the casino enabling bill, and had found within that party support for it.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has faced calls to resign since a June 15 phone call with former Cambodia premier Hun Sen was leaked.
In the recording, Ms Shinawatra appeared to criticise a Thai army commander in relation to the fallout from a deadly March 28 border clash between soldiers from the two nations. The military incident also had been mentioned in a filing by Donaco International Ltd, an operator of a border casino in Poipet, Cambodia, that serves foreign players, including ones from neighbouring Thailand.
On June 18, the Bhumjaithai Party – second-largest in the Thai coalition – had withdrawn from the government, suggesting Ms Shinawatra’s response to Cambodia had been weak.
Its departure left the 10-party coalition with 255 seats, just above the majority of the 495-seat house, according to an earlier report by the Bangkok Post.
Chuwit Kamolvisit, a former Thai MP, suggested via social media that one motive for the phone call involving Ms Shinawatra having been made public, might have been to reduce the chances of the casino legislation passing in Thailand.
Cambodia has its own casino sector, and its customers include people from neighbouring nations that do not have legal casino gambling.
