Thailand’s government has dumped a plan to limit entry to the nation’s legal casinos for locals to those with at least THB50 million (US$1.5 million) in their bank accounts, proposing instead that citizens need only to show a three-year tax history, Reuters reports.
The update was provided by Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat on Monday, who said the US$1.5 million entry restriction would have excluded too many people while failing to address some of the key reasons for legalizing casino gaming in the first place.
“This criteria would not be able to solve illegal gambling,” Julapan stated, adding that there were only 10,000 deposit accounts in Thailand holding sufficient cash.
“That means more than 70 million people won’t be able to enter casinos.”
As per the Reuters report, the government will retain the THB5,000 (US$150) entry fee for locals in the draft law, which will be submitted to the cabinet for approval before 11 March and then sent to parliament before the current session ends on 11 April.
The proposed US$1.5 million requirement had been seen as a likely stumbling block to Thailand’s casino and entertainment complex plans, with Genting Singapore telling investors during its 4Q24 earnings call that it would likely commit only minimal capex into any Thai development should such a heavy restriction on locals be put in place.
