The government of Myanmar has put the finishing touches on legislation that if passed will open the country to the establishment of foreigners-only casinos in hotels.
“We have finalised the reformed gambling law and are ready to send it to the parliament for suggestion, discussion and then approval,” an official with the Home Affairs Ministry told Bangkok-based English-language daily The Nation.
A populous country of 51 million bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand, around 70% of the adult population is believed to participate regularly in black market gambling on everything from English Premier League football to Thai lotteries to games based on the Thailand Stock Exchange.
Legally, the state-run Aung Bar Lay lottery sells around 30 million tickets for its monthly draws and contributes the equivalent of US$2 million a month to public revenues, according to The Myanmar Times, an English-language weekly based in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Plans call for boosting lottery sales via an online network as part of a national program to bring the country’s outdated physical and technology infrastructures into the 21st century.
The return to civilian rule in 2011 has seen the lifting of global economic sanctions and is spurring growth in foreign investment and tourism, and the revenue-potential from casinos was emphasized in a tourism master plan published last year that set a goal of 7 million visitor arrivals a year by 2020.
The country welcomed 2 million visitors in 2013, about double 2012’s total, and 5 million are expected in 2015, according to the Times. An e-visa scheme has been introduced to speed the process. Currently available to 41 countries, it will soon be extended to the European Union.
RelatedPosts
