Thailand’s new Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, says the country will have to “wait for another prime minister” should gambling be considered a means “to stimulate the economy”.
Mr Anutin (pictured in a file photo), also the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, made the comments to the local press on Wednesday when speaking about plans for the Ministry of Interior, where he concurrently serves as minister.
Friday’s parliamentary election of Mr Anutin as prime minister ended a week-long power vacuum following the ousting of his predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Ms Shinawatra’s coalition government, including the Pheu Thai Party she had been representing, had promoted a policy to legalise entertainment complexes, each due to house a casino.
In early July, Thailand’s House of Representatives voted by a large majority to approve a cabinet-requested withdrawal of the Entertainment Complex Bill.
Mr Anutin’s right-wing Bhumjaithai Party had entered into a coalition with Ms Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai in 2023, but withdrew in June over her alleged misconduct in a leaked phone call with Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen.
Mr Anutin said on Wednesday that he was considering a review of poker’s current legal status. On July 23, the Sports Authority of Thailand approved the classification of poker as a sport eligible for registration.
Subsequently, on July 30, the Ministry of Interior revoked a 1958 order that set rules for granting gambling permits, which had included a ban on card games such as poker.
At the time, the ministry was headed by the then acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, deputy leader of the Pheu Thai Party.
In his Wednesday remarks, Mr Anutin said he disagreed with stimulating the economy through gambling.
Mr Anutin also said he had opposed the reclassification of poker as a sport when he was serving as interior minister, a role he resigned from in June when his Bhumjaithai Party broke away from the coalition with the Pheu Thai Party.
Following his election on September 5 as the country’s new prime minister, Mr Anutin vowed to hold fresh elections to select a new government.
