Thailand’s controversial casino bill is officially off the House agenda after members voted in favor of its withdrawal on Wednesday.
Local media outlet The Nation reported that the vote took place after two hours of debate, with 253 votes in favor of withdrawing the Entertainment Complex Bill and 65 opposed.
The bill will now be dropped entirely from the agenda for the current House session, allowing the government to regroup and consider whether to reintroduce its casino policy at a later date. Among the reasons stated for the push to withdraw have been the need for the newly appointed Cabinet to conduct a thorough review and to allow more time to explain to the Thai public exactly what an entertainment complex is and how they can be of benefit.
Among those who voted against withdrawing the bill were members of the opposition People’s Party, including party spokesperson Parit Wacharasindhu – a key attendee of last month’s Thailand Entertainment Complex Roundtable (TECR) in Bangkok.
During the two-hours of debate, Parit reiterated many of the arguments he put forward at TECR against the bill – expressing doubt over the government’s estimates on the economic benefits that entertainment complexes would provide. He also questioned projected numbers around the number of local players that would frequent legal casinos given comments by global operators at TECR emphasizing the importance of allowing locals to gamble.
It is assumed that Parit opposed withdrawal of the bill from the current House session hoping that the bill would proceed and be defeated on the floor of the House.
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