(Bloomberg) – Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin used his first monthly televised address as the country’s leader to promote plans to legalize casinos to curb illegal gambling and to build a nuclear power plant to reduce electricity costs.
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Casinos would bring gambling companies under government control, while a nuclear power plant would reduce public opinion about high energy bills due to lower generation costs, Srettha said in the recorded TV program.
“We must admit that underground gambling is a serious problem and must be solved through legalization,” Srettha said. “Nuclear power will take time to educate people, because most don’t want the plant near them.”
A majority of the 500-member House of Representatives in March backed an investigation by a panel of lawmakers that favored setting up legalized casinos in major entertainment venues to attract high-spending tourists. According to the government, the integrated entertainment complexes are estimated to generate a total tax revenue of 12 billion baht ($327 million) in the first year of operations.
According to Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, Thailand’s Ministry of Finance plans to submit a draft law to the Cabinet within three to four weeks aimed at legalizing gambling establishments. The ministry has collected views from 16 relevant agencies, all of which agree that the casino complexes will boost the country’s economic growth, he told the media on June 19.
While most types of betting are illegal in Thailand – a predominantly Buddhist society – any casino openings will be in line with the recent embrace of a more liberal landscape to revive the tourism industry from the pandemic blow. In 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis, although it is now in the process of banning its recreational use. It also became the first in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage after the Senate passed the legislation last week.
Nuclear power would also help Thailand achieve its net-zero carbon emissions pledge, Srettha said last month.
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