Thailand’s amended casino law contains provisions that would seemingly prohibit operators from providing any form of remote gaming to customers located outside the casino premises, according to local media reports.
With the Council of State having completed its study of the amended entertainment complex bill, The Bangkok Post on Monday highlighted a few key provisions of the bill ahead of a review by the cabinet scheduled for 11 March.
These include Sections 61 and 62 of the bill which it says “prohibit online gambling and live-streaming of gambling activities from the casino to prevent people outside the casino from participating.”
Such a restriction would certainly prohibit any form of remote gaming by way of live streaming to customers as is common in the Philippines and most likely also outlaw proxy betting, where remote players telephone their bets through to someone located on the premises.
It has been reported that another amendment contained in Section 65, which would have seen Thai nationals required to have at least THB50 million (US$1.5 million) in their bank accounts to enter country’s casinos, has been scrapped by the government.
The measure, added by the Council of State, was aimed at limiting access only to those with considerable financial means.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat recently stated that doing so would only drive less cashed up locals back to illegal gambling dens, while Genting Singapore – operator of Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa – told analysts the it would be difficult to commit to a high IR capex if the market size was reduced to mainly foreign-only visitors.
