Tim is a journalist, author, and columnist with two decades of experience writing for outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He is an expert on regulation, business, and industry and is fluent...
Read Full BioThailand’s Senate and its Deputy Prime Minister want the government to hold a referendum on its much-maligned casino bill.
The bill’s champion is Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who wants to legalize casinos in new entertainment complexes.
The PM says that legal casinos would be built using foreign capital and would help boost tax revenue.
But her plans have been beset by public and political opposition. Critics claim that the bill would facilitate money laundering and organized crime.
Casino Referendum Talk Grows
The Bangkok Post quoted the Senate Special Committee Chair Veerapun Suvannamai as suggesting that a referendum on the bill is inevitable.
The committee believes that the bill contradicts elements of the Thai constitution. This means it would require a mandate from the public rather than lawmakers’ approval.
Last week, Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, also called for a referendum on the bill.
The party is part of the ruling government coalition, but many of its senior members remain bitterly opposed to casino legalization.
The Senate committee discussed the bill’s practical challenges. Senator Chirmsak Pinthong suggested the draft law was a back-door bid to legalize large-scale casinos.
Chirmsak blasted the policy unit behind the bill, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, dubbing it the “casino cabinet.”
The same senator claimed that the bill would allow for Bangkok to grant concessions without a bidding process, public hearing, or environmental impact assessment.
Chirmsak also warned that the government’s plans to grant 30-year casino concessions could create problems for future generations.
Other senators also expressed their doubts, including Kaewsan Atibhoti, who opined that the bill could benefit foreign investors more than Thais.
PM to Face Senate in June
Senators had previously invited the Prime Minister to attend the committee meeting. But neither Paetongtarn nor her delegate, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, showed up at the meeting, with both away on official business in Vietnam.
Veerapun said that the committee wants Paetongtarn to visit the chamber on June 5 instead.
In a separate report, the same media outlet claimed that cracks were beginning to deepen in the coalition.
It wrote that speculation is now rife that Bhumjaithai may be “thrown out of the coalition” as Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party continues to clash with its coalition partner on the casino bill and other matters.
Bhumjaithai has 70 seats in parliament. If it were to exit the coalition as feared, the government may need to turn to opposition parties for support.
But soHowever,of these parties are also vehemently opposed to the bill. These include the Palang Pracharath Party, which has 20 seats. Party leader Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said of the draft law: “Our stance has never been clearer. We don’t agree with the casino bill.”
