{"id":777023976,"date":"2025-03-12T09:03:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T12:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777023976"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T03:55:10","slug":"cabinet-debate-on-thai-casino-bill-put-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/cabinet-debate-on-thai-casino-bill-put-back","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet debate on Thai casino bill put back"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is waiting for the public hearing to conclude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Thailand.- An expected cabinet debate on Thailand’s proposed casino legislation has been put back to await the conclusion of a public hearing on Friday (March 14). Speaking at his weekly press conference, Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra<\/strong> emphasised the importance of waiting to receive public opinion, stressing that the bill must not be rushed into law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This move comes after protest groups camped outside Government House to protest against the bill, which would allow entertainment complexes with casinos. A survey conducted by\u00a0the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida)\u00a0<\/strong>found the majority of Thais to be opposed to casinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, deputy finance minister\u00a0Julapun Amornvivat <\/strong>announced that the bill would finally include a requirement for Thai nationals to have at least THB50m (US$1.5m) in fixed deposits for six months to be able to enter casinos. The government reversed its decision to drop the requirement after its legal advisory body suggested the amendment should be included. Parliament will be able to decide whether to approve it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amornvivat said that he is against the measure since it would exclude most citizens. He said there are only about 10,000 bank accounts in Thailand <\/strong>with deposits exceeding THB50m, which leaves over 70 million people unable to enter casinos. Amornvivat has proposed that Thais wanting to access a casino should be required to pay a fee of THB5,000 (US$150) and show proof of paid income tax for three consecutive years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation proposes\u00a030-year casino licences with the option for a 10-year renewal. Complexes would be located in designated areas and operated by companies registered in Thailand with a minimum paid-up capital of THB10bn (US$283m). A policy panel led by the prime minister and a regulatory agency would oversee the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n

See also:<\/span> Most Thais oppose casino legalisation, survey shows<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is waiting for the public hearing to conclude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":777012806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Thailand's proposed casino legislation faces a cabinet debate postponement pending public hearing conclusions, underscoring governmental prudence amidst public opposition. Key legislative amendments include a stringent THB50m fixed deposit requirement for Thai nationals to access gaming verticals, a measure contested by the Deputy Finance Minister who advocates for an alternative THB5,000 entry fee with income tax verification. The bill outlines 30-year B2C licensing terms, substantial minimum paid-up capital of THB10bn, and a prime minister-led regulatory oversight panel.","focusai_entities":"Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Julapun Amornvivat, National Institute of Development Administration (Nida), Government House","focusai_location":"Thailand","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (1.0), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact of Entry Barriers","query":"How will the proposed THB50m fixed deposit or THB5,000 entry fee for Thai nationals impact the projected Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) and Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) for potential integrated resort operators in Thailand?"},{"label":"Regulatory Timeline Outlook","query":"What is the revised legislative timeline for Thailand's casino bill, and what political or public sentiment factors could further influence its passage or the final form of its governance frameworks?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,158,16333],"tags":[23911,23632,23907],"class_list":["post-777023976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legislation-news","category-slider-home","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-integrated-resorts","tag-land-based-casino"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777023976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777023976"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777023976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777023998,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777023976\/revisions\/777023998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777012806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777023976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777023976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777023976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}