Lately elected PM, Samak Sundaravej, in his weekly talk show, revived the betting debate once more in Thailand. A caller to his talk show asked the PM about casinos and gambling on soccer matches. The PM replied by asserting, “If this government gets to finish its four-year term, folks will get to see legalized casinos”.
There were and will always remain folks that oppose legalized betting in Thailand. Chalerm Yubamrung mentioned ”We can organize zoning, or promote casinos that mainly serve foreign holiday makers, while setting certain restrictions for Thai consumers. ‘. There will be those that oppose Mr Samak emphasizing all the social ills that go together with betting. The PM feels that legal betting will finally lead to the closure of the illegal betting dens that are raided on a virtually daily basis.
The Thai P. M. is also considering a lotto system in which tickets are dispensed from machines rather than the prevailing system of individual lotto ticket sellers. Samak Sundaravej, who took office, last month, mentioned in his weekly radio broadcast Sun. that he supported the idea of legalized betting as in Macau and Malaysia, which both host flourishing casino industries. Mr Samak feels that at the start, betting should commence with visitor areas like Pattaya, Phuket, Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai.
Thais are permitted to bet on the lottery and at 2 pony racetracks in Bangkok, but otherwise betting is not lawful. Yet it is widespread and put up with: Major high-rollers play at illegal underground casinos or cross the border to bet at bigger companies in Cambodia and Myanmar. One positive would be the money remains in Thailand rather than going across the border. Another positive aspect is that it might be geared toward travelers basically and should have a minimal effect on the poorer Thais. There’ll be those that are anti-gambling and will make a case that this will impact on the young folks of Thailand and others which will support it pronouncing a proportion of the cash will fund academic projects. Creating a casino in Thailand, like the ones in Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore has been debated and debated for several years in Thailand with the people always voting it down. Maybe with this new state ready a system of legalized betting will be implemented which will help the economy and not hurt the area folk.