To increase revenue: Thailand plans to legalise gambling

According to the Gambling Act of 1935 of Thailand, most forms of games of chance are illegal. However, there is a paragraph in this Act which states that the state can legalise some games and issue a licence for this purpose. Thailand’s government is now considering legalising some forms of gambling with the aim of increasing the state revenue.

Around a year ago we had already reported that the President of the Philippines had publicly invoked the people to participate in games of chance. With his statement “Get cracking and play” the president left little room for interpretation. His wishful thinking: to profit from the gambling activities of the population. When the general public plays, the state benefits from an increase in state revenue. Apparently the Thai government is pursuing the same goal. The Asiatic government is considering the legalisation of games of chance to be able to generate more revenue for the state. 

This will give a boost to the economy of Thailand

The economy of Thailand was affected during the Corona pandemic. Tourists remained away from the country for a long period. Now the government seems to be trying to boost the economy and to attract more tourists to the country and it is doing this at any cost. First there was the legalisation of cannabis and now, a short while later, games of chance will also be legalised in the country. Bloomberg reported about this more than a year ago. In March of this year, we had reported that in Thailand a claw machine operator was acquitted in court. This person was at first accused of illegal gambling.

The committee suggests the building of casinos

Some time ago, the government of Thailand had set up a special committee to analyse if the legislation of gambling would make sense for the country. A short while ago the committee had compiled a detailed report and presented it to parliament. The political experts made the explicit suggestion here that “entertainment temples” which include casino operations should be built. This could attract wealthy tourists to the country, and this could bring a boost to the economy. This spring we had already reported that even Brazil is moving ahead and legalising gambling and games of chance. 

Strict protection measures for the locals

The Parliament in Thailand has above all planned all this to attract wealthy tourist to the country. Whilst foreign tourists will be able to play in the casinos without any restrictions, the parliament wants to protect the locals from the dangers of gambling. It is currently envisaged that to be able to visit a casino, every Thai casino guest must prove that he has the means of a minimum of 500,000 Baht (around 13,500 Euro) in cash. Besides this, the minimum age is that of 20 years. The Thai government is aiming that as soon as several casinos start operating, it will ideally have a yearly revenue of at least eleven thousand million US-Dollar. However, the politicians must first decide whether they will be implementing the suggestions of the committee.

Conclusion

The Thai laws seem to be getting even more liberal every day. After the legalisation of same sex partnerships and cannabis, the gambling sector could now also be legalised. The latter could however bring a yearly tax revenue of several thousand million US-Dollar and it could stabilise the economy of the country which is going through a crisis. However, it will still be a while till the first casino in Thailand will open.

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/buddha-statue-thailand-buddhismus-5641534/