Former senator questions transparency and risks in government’s casino project

Former senator and an expert on corruption and gambling, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, has spoken about flaws in the government’s ambitious integrated entertainment complex project and the government’s over-optimistic expectations that the project will generate enormous revenue to boost the economy.

Sangsit admits, however, that casinos are useful for a country if they are intended to draw money from wealthy tourists, adding that there are three things that the government should remember:

1. Conflicts of interest

2. Public participation in the siting of the casinos

3. Law enforcement

Sangsit said that there is a potentially high risk of conflicts of interest if the government retains a vested interest in the project, as this will impact political, bureaucratic and societal systems.

He cited the case of the Government Lottery Office (GLO), over which politicians have always tried to exert control, to treat it as a treasure trove. He noted, though, that the GLO cannot rival a casino in terms of revenue generation, saying that the GLO makes money only twice a month, while a casino is raking in revenue every minute.

Regarding public participation, Sangsit said that the government should have the consent of the majority of people in the province where a casino is to be built. Citing the case of Phuket, which was considered as one of the potential sites, he said the government should gauge the views of the people there first.

The leading economist said that, before there is a casino, the government must make sure that most police are honest, noting that illegal gambling is rampant today and police are still unable to deal with the problem. So, he wondered, how will the police deal with a casino, which is a larger gambling den and involves more money?

In the end, he said that casinos will end up being a means by which to launder dirty money, adding that Singapore can open casinos because its police strictly enforce the law.

Sangsit also criticised the government’s lack of transparency in the choice of developers for the casino project. Instead of an open bidding process for all parties interested in the concession, the government is opting for the granting of concessions to bidders which have funding of at least 10 billion baht. He said that this will limit the number of bidders and only a handful of Thai investors will be able to afford to compete, adding that this route will leave the project wide open to demands for kickbacks in exchange of concessions.

The casino project must begin with transparency, he warned.

He also voiced his disagreement with the idea of opening up to ten casinos across the country, saying that would be too many and should it be limited to just two to start with, because Thailand has no expertise in running casinos properly. He also warned that casinos do not last forever as, sooner or later, people will become bored of them, leaving them abandoned and out of business, like many casinos in Europe.