Average spending of tourists in Thailand could increase by 52 percent, to THB65,050 (US$1,785) per trip, were casino resorts to be built in that nation, reported Bloomberg, citing information in a casino legalisation study by Thai lawmakers reportedly due to be submitted to the country’s parliament on Thursday (March 28).
It has been separately reported that an actual bill on casino legalisation would be submitted that day to the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Assembly.
Bloomberg’s story about the study did not specify if the data referred to overseas and domestic tourists combined. So far there have been no indcations that locals might be barred from visiting casinos.
The report said annual tourism revenue in the country might be lifted by the equivalent of US$12 billion. The extra income generated could boost the country’s gross domestic product growth by 1.16 percentage points, reported Bloomberg, citing the study.
Were Thailand to agree on construction of five casino resorts, each in a separate region, the move could create at least 50,000 jobs, suggested recently the country’s Labour Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, as cited by the Bangkok Post newspaper.
Nonetheless, the minister has said there would need to be employment and income checks on domestic customers of any Thai casinos, to make sure they could afford to gamble in them.
Bloomberg mentioned that a panel of lawmakers looking at the casino issue – headed by Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat – has recommended a number of safeguards to prevent Thais from getting addicted to betting.
In other commentary on the topic, the Pattaya News outlet cited on Tuesday the mayor in Pattaya, a popular beach resort southeast of the capital Bangkok, as indicating it would like to host a casino complex.
Poramase Ngampiches mentioned the possibility of creating such a venue at Jomtien, near Pattaya.
The Royal Thai Police have been cited as saying casino complexes should only be built at a distance from local communities and from educational institutions.
