From Rama V to Paetongtarn: Thailand’s long gamble on legal casinos

Thailand is hoping for a billion-dollar betting bonanza after the Cabinet approved a bill to legalise casinos on Monday (January 13).

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the draft law aims to tackle the issue of rampant illegal gambling by allowing the construction of casino-entertainment complexes across the country, boosting the economy and spurring tourism.

However, the move to legalise gambling has drawn heavy flak, with critics slamming a “lack of transparency” in the process that led to the Cabinet resolution and warning of negative impacts from casinos, including increased crime, debt and poverty.

History of Thai gambling dens

Legal gambling dens that generated tax revenue are not new to Thailand. They existed over two centuries ago, before King Rama V in 1887 ordered a gradual reduction of gambling establishments after recognising the social ills gambling caused among his subjects, despite the hefty tax revenue generated.

Historian Rome Bunnag wrote that the monarch became convinced that legal gambling “brought more harm than good” to the kingdom and its people.

The last legal gambling dens were stamped out in 1917 during the reign of King Rama VI. Gambling was officially outlawed 13 years later under King Rama VII with the enactment of the Gambling Act of 1930.

However, Thailand rolled the dice again in 1935, when the post-1932 Siamese Revolution administration reopened the door to legal casinos by introducing a new gambling law.

The 15-year rule of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram (1938-1944 and 1948-1957) saw five casinos opened during a global recession – in Hua Hin, Lop Buri, Phitsanulok, Nong Khai, and Betong.

That figure later grew to 11 as casinos spread to other regions, though all eventually went out of business.

Thailand took its next bet on legal casinos in February 1945 after suffering severe inflation during World War II.

The government of Khuang Aphaiwong reckoned that betting houses would help fill state coffers by drawing money from the pockets of wealthy gamblers.

Government-licensed casinos in Bangkok and other provinces earned as much as 24.1 million baht, about a quarter of the monthly state revenue at that time.

However, the government suddenly closed all the casinos in May 1945, just 82 days after they opened, following reports of many poorer gamblers going bankrupt and even committing suicide.

Floating ‘entertainment complex’ idea

Sixty years later, in 2005, the government led by Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, floated the idea of legalising casinos to help retain tens of billions of baht annually that would otherwise be spent by Thai gamblers at casinos abroad.

Thaksin’s administration set up a committee to study the feasibility of allowing legal casinos within so-called entertainment complexes.

The plan divided public opinion in Thailand and was eventually shelved after Thaksin faced rising pressure from street protests led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy, which accused him of abusing his power and disrespecting the monarchy.

The anti-Thaksin protests culminated in a military coup that toppled his government in September 2006.

Subsequent governments led by Thaksin’s proxies – particularly Samak Sundaravej and Yingluck Shinawatra – took up the idea of casino-entertainment complexes but failed to realise the plan.

In March 2008, then-PM Samak announced plans for five casinos in tourist destinations before his four-year term ended – in Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Khon Kaen, and Hat Yai.

However, the plan fell through after the Constitutional Court removed him from office six months later in September 2008 for hosting a TV cooking show in violation of the charter’s rule against ministers taking private employment.

Three years later, in September 2011, the Government Lottery Office revealed a plan to build Thailand’s first casino-entertainment complex, modelled on Macau establishments.

However, then-PM Yingluck said the plan required a feasibility study and public hearing, adding that it was not a government priority.

In December 2021, a House committee set up during General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s administration began studying the pros and cons of entertainment complexes incorporating casinos.

The idea was meant to boost foreign tourist arrivals and revenue to aid Thailand’s economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bipartisan House panel’s report included proposals to limit the number of Thai gamblers using casinos, such as implementing a minimum salary and bank deposit limit.

However, the Prayut government’s term ended before the plan could advance.

The push resumed during the tenure of Prayut’s successor, Srettha Thavisin, with the formation of a new House committee to study casino legalisation.

The panel concluded that casinos could generate at least 12.2 billion baht per year but warned that they could exacerbate social ills without strict and transparent government measures.