The meeting between Deputy Finance Minister Julphan Amornvivat and prominent casino and entertainment complex developer Chris Gordon, President of Wyn Development, on Friday suggests that the Pheu Thai government will continue to push for the possible construction of an entertainment complex, which includes a casino.
This initiative aims to attract big gamblers and more high-spending tourists to Thailand, despite opposition from various groups, including religious organizations citing morality.
Indeed, the proposed Entertainment Complex is intended to be funded by the private sector with a minimum investment of 100 billion baht, not Thai taxpayers’ money. The government states that it will help generate significant tax revenue from foreign visitors, which will substantially boost the economy.
Morality and investment aside, one must ask how well-equipped the government and Thai society will be in effectively handling potential gambling addictions.
For example, Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Casino has introduced several measures in an attempt to control or mitigate the negative impact of gambling addiction. These measures aim to ensure that pathological and problem gambling (PPG) among Singaporeans remains low and stable at around 1 percent.
These measures include a barrier to entry for local Singaporeans, who are required to pay an entrance fee of 250 Singaporean dollars (approximately 6,500 baht) per visit. There is also a scheme where individuals can voluntarily exclude themselves from entering, as well as an option for family members to request that their relatives be barred due to severe gambling addiction. Singapore’s National Council on Problem Gambling can also issue exclusion orders to prevent certain Singaporean individuals from entering casinos.
According to statistics from December 31, 2023, as many as 184,054 people had self-excluded themselves from casinos.
When this writer visited Marina Bay Sands Casino last week to observe, the typical casino environment was evident – no natural light and no clocks to remind you of the time or day.
Nevertheless, at the chip exchange counter, a purple booklet is available in English, Chinese, and Japanese, providing information about responsible gambling.
“ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR GAMBLING BEHAVIOURS?” asks page 5 of the printed material, followed by a “Yes/No” checklist.
- “Do you think about gambling every day?”
- “Do you hide your gambling from your loved ones?”
- “Do you ever borrow money to gamble?”
- “Do you let bills go unpaid?”
- “Is your gambling affecting your work or your role as a parent?”
- “Do you think you can use skill to win on a gaming machine?”
- “Do you gamble to forget your problems?”
The casino then advises that if you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you may have “a problem with your gambling behaviour.”
Thailand has had legal gambling for many decades through the state-run lottery, and some would argue that there is plenty of illegal gambling occurring online and offline even as the writer types these words. Nevertheless, large-scale legal gambling will be introduced for the first time if the proposed entertainment complex proceeds, and there is no way to fully assess potential negative social and economic impacts at this point.
It is thus fair to say that the proposed entertainment complex is itself a gamble, not just on the part of the Pheu Thai Party, which appears determined to push it forward, but for Thai society as well.
Will the monetary gain derived from the operating private sector offset the social and economic impact on those who become addicted to gambling?
_____
