Experts say unresolved issues to affect Thailand’s potential casino legislation

A number of unresolved issues around potential future casino legislation in Thailand, according to industry observers, are expected to come up for discussion on March 28th in the National Assembly’s lower house.

Paul Bromberg, SVP of Investigations at Spectrum Gaming Group, emphasized Thailand’s long-standing illegal gambling industry during the 6th ASEAN Gaming Summit in Manila. Bromberg stressed how important it is that Thai authorities openly deal with this issue in addition to the casino license procedure.

He said that Thailand needs to learn from this experience and communicate with the people effectively if it is to prosper. Even if some research indicates that legalizing gambling would be supported, Bromberg added that there is still a lot of opposition because of the related social problems.

He emphasized the need to win over the people by pointing out the necessity of open communication and stringent laws to promote investment. Bromberg stressed how much work these kinds of projects need.

Daniel Cheng, an industry veteran, finds the proposed draft law’s 17 percent tax on gaming profits to be “very attractive.” Investor interest would undoubtedly be piqued by Cheng’s observation that this tax rate is quite comparable to Singapore’s tax level for mass gross gaming profits.

According to the Finance Ministry of Thailand, for the five to eight entertainment complexes that may be built for the Southeast Asian monarchy, Thais would pay for three-quarters of the expenditures.

Original story by: Asia Gaming Brief