The opposition Palang Pracharath Party on Wednesday vowed to oppose the government’s entertainment complex bill, which would pave the way for the legalisation of casino gambling.
It said legalising casinos could harm Thailand and its people, while the bill, in its view, gives too much authority to the prime minister.
The party also announced its intention to include the casino issue in the no-confidence debate which the opposition is now seeking to initiate against the government next month.
The government is attempting to decriminalise gambling which could pose a serious threat to the nation, said Chaimongkol Chairop, a deputy Palang Pracharath leader. Critics say it could also invite corruption.
“Couldn’t this government find other ways to generate revenue? Why end up allowing the country to be tainted and damaged by this [casino legalisation](#)?” he said.
The party maintains that casinos will never give Thai people a better life and will instead make those running them rich, said Mr Chaimongkol.
“The irony is this government told the public in the beginning that it would focus on promoting Thailand’s soft power; but now it is ending up allowing casinos instead,” he said.
While Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and other government officials downplay concerns about casino legalisation by saying the proposed casino will occupy only 10% of each entertainment complex, the reality is that this 10% could pose a serious threat to the nation, he said.
And unlike several other countries where casinos are located in only rural areas, the ones in Thailand will be located in key tourist destinations such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Bangkok, he said.
The government has claimed that entertainment complexes will make tourism more sustainable, but ML Kornkasiwat Kasemsri, a Palang Pracharath executive member, called the claim a “false advertisement”.
He said legalising casinos would lead to more gambling addictions and a higher crime rate, and could do more harm than good to the country’s tourism.
Even more concerning, he said, Section 15 of the bill effectively grants absolute power to the committee overseeing the entertainment complex project, which will be chaired by the prime minister.
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