The Thai Senate has rejected the currently-lapsed draft entertainment complex bill – the enabling proposal for casino legalisation in the country – citing concerns on social impact and economic value, reported local media outlet Bangkok Post on Wednesday.
The senate reached the conclusion after Tuesday discussion of a report made by a special senate panel tasked with studying the entertainment complex bill.
The panel report concluded that the entertainment complex bill – had it been enacted – could have lead to money laundering risk and, “erosion of public trust” while yielding “little real economic value”, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday.
The panel also urged that any future casino legalisation efforts should involve “public participation”, with a national referendum.
The panel’s chair, Veerapun Suvannamai, was also cited in the Wednesday report saying any political party intending to support casino legalisation should declare it during its campaigning. The Thai parliament is due to be dissolved within four months, following an agreement between the Bhumjaithai Party and the main opposition, People’s Party. That is in exchange for the latter’s support in forming a government.
Thailand’s House of Representatives – the lower house of its parliament – had voted by a large majority in early July in approving a cabinet-requested withdrawal of the entertainment complex bill.
The bill was introduced by the government of former Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who represents the Pheu Thai Party.
Ms Shinawatra – initially suspended from her role as premier on July 1 – was ordered to be dismissed from the position in late August by the country’s Constitutional Court, having been found responsible for ethical violations. That was in relation to a leaked audio recording of a phone conversation in June between her and former Cambodian leader, Hun Sen.
