The suggested measure would have required Thailand nationals to demonstrate at least 50 million baht (£1.16 million/€1.4 million/$1.5 million) in savings before they could gamble at a casino. The average yearly income in Thailand is a fraction of that – about 348,000 baht in 2023.
Finance minister Pichai Chunhavajira said the government “checked the data and found there are only 10,000 Thai accounts with at least 50 million baht”.
The clause was designed to reduce the risk of problem gambling. It would also essentially create a “foreigner-only regime like South Korea’s”, gaming analyst Daniel Cheng told the South China Morning Post. That would throw a damper on investor interest. One prospective suitor, Genting Singapore, has said it would hesitate to invest in a market that caters only to foreign-born punters.
In response, according to the Bangkok Post, that high bar has been lowered appreciably. In the latest draft, would-be Thailand gamblers would simply have to prove they have filed three years of income tax returns.
Pichai confirmed that a casino entry fee of 5,000 baht remains.
Online betting off the table
In addition, officials disclosed that the current bill bans online gambling and livestreaming from casino premises. According to investment website Inside Bitcoins, that measure is meant to curb proxy betting, in which a gambler at the table places bets on behalf of someone off-premises.
In 2016, Macau banned proxy betting to keep mainland high rollers from covertly moving capital across the border. Since then, the practice has spiked in other Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Public opposition on the rise
Meanwhile, many Thailand residents continue to oppose casinos.
A poll by the National Institute of Development Administration reported that 59% of those surveyed disapproved of entertainment complexes with casinos. Just 29% supported the proposed developments.
Last weekend, reports the Thai Enquirer, protesters paraded in the streets, waving Thai flags and carrying anti-casino signs. They have sent a petition with 100,000 signatures to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, demanding the government reconsider its casino plan.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/thailand-removes-million-dollar-entry-requirement-casino-bill/
