{"id":777031585,"date":"2025-09-12T08:47:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T11:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777031585"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T22:13:20","slug":"thailands-new-pm-rejects-casino-legalisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/thailands-new-pm-rejects-casino-legalisation","title":{"rendered":"Thailand\u2019s new PM rejects casino legalisation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anutin Charnvirakul has said that he opposes the Entertainment Complex Bill advanced by his predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Thailand.- Newly appointed prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul<\/strong> has rejected the possible legalisation of casinos in Thailand. Integrated resorts had been championed by Charnvirakul’s predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra<\/a>, as a means to boost tourism and attract international investment, but Anutin, who took office on September 5<\/a>, has made it clear that gambling will not be part of his economic strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf someone says gambling can stimulate the economy, I\u2019d say wait for another prime minister<\/strong>,\u201d Anutin told local media, emphasising his opposition to the Entertainment Complex Bill<\/a>. The legislation, which proposed combining casinos with hotels, shopping malls, and entertainment venues, was a flagship initiative of the Pheu Thai Party under Shinawatra. However, it was shelved in July<\/a> when the House of Representatives voted to withdraw it from the parliamentary agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anutin, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, long opposed casino plan, arguing that it could harm Thailand\u2019s tourism sector. He aid the proposal would lead to a drop in tourists from China<\/strong>, Thailand\u2019s largest source market, after Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that casinos could increase crime and prompt Beijing to curb travel, trade, and investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anutin\u2019s administration is expected to govern for a transitional period of four months before calling new elections follows the ousting of two Pheu Thai prime ministers on ethics violations. The instability has sparked cocerns among investors and the hospitality sector. Dhanakorn Kasetrsuwan<\/strong>, chairman of the Thai National Shippers\u2019 Council, warned of a \u201cwait-and-see climate<\/strong>\u201d that could slow the economy and deter new investments. Bill Barnett <\/strong>of Phuket-based C9Hotelworks expressed concern over lost momentum in the hospitality sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anutin\u2019s stance extends beyond casinos to other gambling reforms. He has signalled a potential rollback of the recognition of poker as a sport, a classification approved by the Sports Authority of Thailand in July<\/a>. \u201cWhile I was interior minister, I also said poker shouldn\u2019t be allowed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Why Thailand\u2019s casino legalisation bill stalled: experts weigh in<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anutin Charnvirakul has said that he opposes the Entertainment Complex Bill advanced by his predecessor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777031365,"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 newly appointed Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has definitively rejected the legalisation of casinos and integrated resorts, opposing the Entertainment Complex Bill championed by his predecessor. This policy reversal, citing potential harm to tourism and creating investor uncertainty, also signals a potential rollback of poker's recognition as a sport. The decision impacts regional investment and the future of regulated gambling in Thailand.","focusai_entities":"Anutin Charnvirakul, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Xi Jinping, Dhanakorn Kasetrsuwan, Bill Barnett, Bhumjaithai Party, Pheu Thai Party, House of Representatives, Thai National Shippers\u2019 Council, C9Hotelworks, Sports Authority of Thailand","focusai_location":"Thailand, China, Phuket","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.9), compliance_legal (0.8), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.7), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on Regional IRs","query":"How will Thailand's definitive rejection of integrated resorts impact the competitive landscape and investment strategies for existing and planned IR developments in neighboring Southeast Asian jurisdictions?"},{"label":"Future of Thai Gambling","query":"Given the political instability and the new administration's stance, what is the long-term outlook for any form of regulated gambling expansion or reform in Thailand beyond the current transitional period?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[24628,154,158,16333],"tags":[12436,24796,225,342],"class_list":["post-777031585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlight-of-the-week","category-legislation-news","category-slider-home","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-casinos","tag-entertainment-complex-bill","tag-legislation","tag-thailand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031585","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\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777031585"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777031623,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031585\/revisions\/777031623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777031365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777031585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777031585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777031585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}