SURVEY: Should The Thai government allow for legally operated Casinos?

[VINCENT2012]

Yes, but only tourists should be allowed to gamble. Or Thais that are willing to pay a high membership fee. That is the system used in Singapore, it's designed to extract money from foreign tourists while protecting the local poor from being further exploited and impoverished.

I agree.

Agree to it to.

Besides i think thailand is not ready for this, a newborn goverment, finance unstable, uneducated, and a pour infra structure, are perfect ingredients for a nice bomb to explode in this behind sceduled country.

i totally desagree.....thais allready plays like crazy without any controll, thats why it is forbiden by law to gamble since long time... but they still do it anyway , every where.

a place for them where they can go to gamble could be a way to controll them, register them and assist them in case they have addiction.....they could build it a way that it would be on benefit for the gambler and so controll the gambling and some mafia involved too.

Edited June 29, 2015 by VINCENT2012

[HerbalEd]

Absolutely could be a positive. Need to ban Thais from gambling (or at least severely limit their maximum monthly losses), make 95% of the jobs within the casino Thai only, strictly enforce all gambling laws, heavily tax the the owners, and make sure all casinos are 100% locally owned.

Is the Thai government capable of implementing all of this? Probably not.

"Absolutely could be a positive." "Probably not." Make up your mind.

[FloridaExport]

Absolutely could be a positive. Need to ban Thais from gambling (or at least severely limit their maximum monthly losses), make 95% of the jobs within the casino Thai only, strictly enforce all gambling laws, heavily tax the the owners, and make sure all casinos are 100% locally owned.

Is the Thai government capable of implementing all of this? Probably not.

"Absolutely could be a positive." "Probably not." Make up your mind.

Read the context, dumbass. I stated why it could absolutely be a positive. I then stated why it probably wouldn't be.

Could vs would...

[jcsmith]

Casinos are designed to do one thing - extract money from fools. The house never loses !

Add in the inherent criminal aspect (corruption and potential money laundering) and the number of high-ranking fingers that would be in the cookie jar, you can pretty much be assured that it wouldn't be well regulated and there wouldn't be a lot of "commoners" winning very much at all.

That can be said for parlor games. Poker is a fair game which can be won. The house still gets their rake, and it brings money into the economy.

[WayneS]

I know the term Mega resort gets a little over used but that is what is needed. A truly international resort with convention center, 1,000's of new hotel rooms and shopping malls for the foreigners who will flock to it. The local airport would be wing tip to wing tip with private jets, cash would flow in to the country. The jobs would be in the tens of thousands from construction to the flow on effect of the operation, suppliers, transport, utilities etc etc.

A company that would actually put the staff on the books and pay taxes, now that is a novel idea.

Should it go to Pattaya, what would 10 or 20,000 new jobs do for the area?

Or just knock the industry and say all countries who put in casinos got it wrong. What other project could have such an impact?

[digibum]

I know the term Mega resort gets a little over used but that is what is needed. A truly international resort with convention center, 1,000's of new hotel rooms and shopping malls for the foreigners who will flock to it. The local airport would be wing tip to wing tip with private jets, cash would flow in to the country. The jobs would be in the tens of thousands from construction to the flow on effect of the operation, suppliers, transport, utilities etc etc.

A company that would actually put the staff on the books and pay taxes, now that is a novel idea.

Should it go to Pattaya, what would 10 or 20,000 new jobs do for the area?

Or just knock the industry and say all countries who put in casinos got it wrong. What other project could have such an impact?

I can only imagine what the TV crowd would have said if building auto and hard disk factories would have been put up for a vote here.

No, Thais will just mismanage the factories.

No, not enough skilled labor for making hard drives. Maybe they can make the packaging or something.

The true test of whether or not a mega resort and casino can work in Thailand is if they got it to the point of signing on a partner to run it (i.e. LV Sands, MGM, etc). If those guys are on board, it's doable. They're not going to invest billions (yes, Billions) building the thing out if they don't think they can make the money back.

So far, the major objections I've heard are:

1. Introducing gambling to Thailand would be devastating.

Except for the fact that gambling is rampant in Thailand already and run by much seedier people than the suits and number crunchers who will be running any Thai casino.

2. Gambling is stupid

That's a personal opinion and believe it or not, there will be no laws forcing anyone to gamble so if one prefers not to gamble, just don't. No need to impose your tastes or moral judgements onto everyone else.

3. Thais are corrupt

So are Chinese triads. Somehow casinos were built all over Macau. The Philippines have comparable corruption and operate casinos. Las Vegas was built by the mafia before being bought out by corporations and many people still long for the days when the mafia was running Vegas because at least back then you could get casino comps when you lost.

The point being is that corruption doesn't seem to be a roadblock anywhere else. I'm sure Thailand's corruption will adapt very well when the money starts rolling in.

---

If Thailand could build a mega convention center and casino resort, it creates tons of jobs and raises the standard for the entire tourism industry.

[Thai at Heart]

Should be privately operated with govt 51% ownership. Simple. Finance minister and PM to sit on board of 7.

Thai citizens not allowed entry. 100 USD entry fee.

[Thai at Heart]

K

I know the term Mega resort gets a little over used but that is what is needed. A truly international resort with convention center, 1,000's of new hotel rooms and shopping malls for the foreigners who will flock to it. The local airport would be wing tip to wing tip with private jets, cash would flow in to the country. The jobs would be in the tens of thousands from construction to the flow on effect of the operation, suppliers, transport, utilities etc etc.

A company that would actually put the staff on the books and pay taxes, now that is a novel idea.

Should it go to Pattaya, what would 10 or 20,000 new jobs do for the area?

Or just knock the industry and say all countries who put in casinos got it wrong. What other project could have such an impact?

Stick it slap bang in the middle of pattaya and get rid of the dieing red light district. Edited June 29, 2015 by Thai at Heart

[Thai at Heart]

Who wins by installing casino's? The casino, the maffia and all the corrupt controllers...All the others are losing...

Who wins from growing rice, the exporter, the miller, the middle man all winning, the rest get screwed......

[Tanlic]

Should be privately operated with govt 51% ownership. Simple. Finance minister and PM to sit on board of 7.

Thai citizens not allowed entry. 100 USD entry fee.

Assuming you come from Europe Oz or the USA would you as a citizen of your country accept a law like that?

If the British government passed a law like that they would be dragged out of parliament and hung strung and quartered,

Your idea insults and tars all Thais with the same brush and belongs in the dark ages

[awayego]

Well at least it would appeal to the current TAT target demographic - the Chinese, who must be about the biggest gamblers in the world.

Bringing even more 'quality' Chinese tourists to Thailand spending all their winnings so freely in Thailand (NOT!).

Thailand will soon come to regret putting so many of its 'eggs' in one Chinese 'basket' - always going cap-in-hand to their Chinese masters who will control so much of the Thai economy through indebtedness.

[shirtless]

This will be a disaster as thais really cannot budget, have no restraint, I ts also a bit late most gambling industries are doing it tuff.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Yes, but only tourists should be allowed to gamble. Or Thais that are willing to pay a high membership fee. That is the system used in Singapore, it's designed to extract money from foreign tourists while protecting the local poor from being further exploited and impoverished.

I believe Monaco has something similar in the way that the Citizens of Monaco are not permitted in the casino. ...

They had this in Poland to, where a Pole could only come in as a guest of a Foreign Passport Holder. But is this the best way to go? As someone pointed out truthfully, people are going to gamble no matter the law. So you are just pushing people back to the unlawful gambling dens, or illegal LOTTO, where no taxes are being paid, shady people are getting rich, and these people are still gambling.

Personally I think it is better if it is all out in the open and Government Controlled verses all underground. With Thailand being a high Tourist Destination this could bring a lot of Tax Revenue to the Thai Government they would not normally have. It may even increase some tourism, like from China for instance.

Many Thais have a drinking problem to, but they don't ban alcohol do they? Besides, that has already been tried in the 30's and failed terribly. At least if it is legal and all above ground you can control it and help a person who has a problem with gambling. But how can you justify this if the activity they are involved in is illegal to begin with?

They have helped many drug addicts with this problem, but many had to be caught first before they could be helped. AA has helped many people world wide with alcoholism, but how many places would there be like this if Alcohol was totally banned world wide? Especially anything that was Government Sponsored?

The fact remains that most people who drink alcohol don't become raving alcoholics, and most people that gamble don't become addicted. In this case the good would outweigh the bad. I am not a big gambler but I do believe in that people should have a right to choose, if it is kept controlled and in its proper place. So if you don't like to look at Porno, for instances, then stay out of the Porno Shop. Nobody is forcing you to go in their, and nobody with force you to into a Casino either.

[natway09]

The main winners who are pushing for them are wealthy people who need to launder money badly.

Having been involved in their operation I can only see ruined families, more corruption & killings.

[Docno]

Yes, but only tourists should be allowed to gamble. Or Thais that are willing to pay a high membership fee. That is the system used in Singapore, it's designed to extract money from foreign tourists while protecting the local poor from being further exploited and impoverished.

The problem is that it doesn't work in Singapore (which is where I've spent most of the past 15 years). It costs SGD$100 to get in. But people simply borrow that money or think about it as being part of their starting 'float'. I've seen quite a few low-income people--most of them Thais living in SG, in fact--devastated because they blew a month or more's wages on a single night in the casino.

[digibum]

They had this in Poland to, where a Pole could only come in as a guest of a Foreign Passport Holder. But is this the best way to go? As someone pointed out truthfully, people are going to gamble no matter the law. So you are just pushing people back to the unlawful gambling dens, or illegal LOTTO, where no taxes are being paid, shady people are getting rich, and these people are still gambling.

It's sort of twisted logic on both sides:

Don't build casinos and only allow foreigners because that will just push Thais back to under the table gambling.

Build casinos and only allow foreigners because Thais gamble anyway.

I think the point is that the argument that introducing gambling is bunk. Gambling already exists. You're not going to eliminate underground gambling in Thailand with or without casinos. The only difference is that the Thai economy might benefit from the influx of tourists with more spendable cash.

The question is whether or not this exacerbates gambling in Thailand and the answer is that it probably has minimal impact on existing gambling and does not cause additional Thai gambling.

The fact remains that most people who drink alcohol don't become raving alcoholics, and most people that gamble don't become addicted. In this case the good would outweigh the bad. I am not a big gambler but I do believe in that people should have a right to choose, if it is kept controlled and in its proper place. So if you don't like to look at Porno, for instances, then stay out of the Porno Shop. Nobody is forcing you to go in their, and nobody with force you to into a Casino either.

But this isn't about personal freedom. This about a bunch of farangs thinking that their opinion on whether or not Thais should allowing gambling in their country is worth anything.

[727Sky]

• Gambling is already here on a large scale, prohibition just does not work and never has. History has shown us that banning things helps only the criminal gangs, just look at the US when booze was banned, they built the mafia.
• By legalizing a casino the government receives income by way of taxes, a lot of taxes and a large portion from foreign players.
• With all this said the Thai government is probably too unstable to attract the multi billion dollar investment from the multi nationals. The worst move they could make is to allow a casino without a huge commitment.
• Yes some people cannot help themselves and casinos do cause social problems, but the benefits far out number the problems, problems that are already here.
• So should it be banned for all so the money flows underground and to the border casinos, Thailand still has to deal with the problems but does not get one baht of revenue.

You said everything I was thinking only better. I would question how they can keep the corrupt nature of some agencies out of the till but...... where there is a desire there are fixes.

Some of the best live shows I have ever seen were in Vegas..

Casinos are not all about gambling if done correctly.

[Eagleizer]

I have seen people loose their shop, family and and friends, and fallen

into crime just by playing cards on the beach. No need for Casino`s.

Playing for money is like a drug and should be treated the same way.

[chris13f]

Wake up you people

Just have a look at Macau Pattaya needs this

[baboon]

K

I know the term Mega resort gets a little over used but that is what is needed. A truly international resort with convention center, 1,000's of new hotel rooms and shopping malls for the foreigners who will flock to it. The local airport would be wing tip to wing tip with private jets, cash would flow in to the country. The jobs would be in the tens of thousands from construction to the flow on effect of the operation, suppliers, transport, utilities etc etc.

A company that would actually put the staff on the books and pay taxes, now that is a novel idea.

Should it go to Pattaya, what would 10 or 20,000 new jobs do for the area?

Or just knock the industry and say all countries who put in casinos got it wrong. What other project could have such an impact?

Stick it slap bang in the middle of pattaya and get rid of the dieing red light district.

A casino might well rejuvenate that scene too. Whether that is desirable or not I shall leave others to debate..

[NoshowJones]

Who would ever gamble in a thai Casino - you would never get home alive with your winnings ....

I think you have got that all wrong, how often have you read in the Thaivisa News about Thais mugging people?

[Johnniey]

No real need. Online gambling is legal as long as the casino is not in Thailand.

I have been a professional poker player for 10 years and am tired of people not in the know telling me it is not allowed.

[NoshowJones]

Should be privately operated with govt 51% ownership. Simple. Finance minister and PM to sit on board of 7.

Thai citizens not allowed entry. 100 USD entry fee.

Assuming you come from Europe Oz or the USA would you as a citizen of your country accept a law like that?

If the British government passed a law like that they would be dragged out of parliament and hung strung and quartered,

Your idea insults and tars all Thais with the same brush and belongs in the dark ages

No they would not, the British government throws money from the taxpayer to other countries with overseas aid, keeps on taking money from the least that can afford it. Steals

money from old age pensioners, gives huge wage increases to themselves, tops up their own pensions while thousands of their OAPs die every year from cold related illnesses

because they cannot afford to heat their homes etc etc etc, I could go on.

The British people will take anything the government does and have not the spunk to do anything about it.

[Thai at Heart]

Should be privately operated with govt 51% ownership. Simple. Finance minister and PM to sit on board of 7.

Thai citizens not allowed entry. 100 USD entry fee.

Assuming you come from Europe Oz or the USA would you as a citizen of your country accept a law like that?

If the British government passed a law like that they would be dragged out of parliament and hung strung and quartered,

Your idea insults and tars all Thais with the same brush and belongs in the dark ages

No they would not, the British government throws money from the taxpayer to other countries with overseas aid, keeps on taking money from the least that can afford it. Steals

money from old age pensioners, gives huge wage increases to themselves, tops up their own pensions while thousands of their OAPs die every year from cold related illnesses

because they cannot afford to heat their homes etc etc etc, I could go on.

The British people will take anything the government does and have not the spunk to do anything about it.

To Tanlic, this law is used in many countries to enable gambling whilst protecting the local populous.

I don't care what goes on in UK. They should find a way to earn some wonga from gambling in Thailand.

[shaggy851]

Absolutely not. Terrible gamblers. They probably don't understand the house advantage and think that everything revolves around luck. They will be sacrificing chickens making merit at temples adorning all sorts of amulets and cloths. Plus I don't really want to play pok daeng in a casino.

[Shawn0001]

As superstitious as these folks are, I could just imagine them visiting their monk who tells them they are having a lucky day, then borrowing money against all their assets (truly betting the farm) then blowing it at a casino. If they're having trouble paying a baht 360 minimum wage, then these people don't have the funds to lose.

Unfortunately borrowing against the farm or car etc is a big issue at the moment in the illegal casinos. I fail to see how legalizing them would increase that problem, in fact I would of thought it would decrease because in legal casinos they tend to want cash not car keys or land registration documents like the current illegal casinos welcome. My suggestion would be to legalise the casinos and come down very hard on the illegal money lending.

[stoli]

Absolutely could be a positive. Need to ban Thais from gambling (or at least severely limit their maximum monthly losses), make 95% of the jobs within the casino Thai only, strictly enforce all gambling laws, heavily tax the the owners, and make sure all casinos are 100% locally owned.

Is the Thai government capable of implementing all of this? Probably not.

Without previous knowledge, I would probably agree with you. A close friend of mine, in the casino industry for 40 years, in Nevada USA, was asked to spend a month in Aruba, just watching to learn why their casino there lost money. All he did was watch, and report. Since it was ruled by Aruba that all of the floor employees be natives of Aruba, the corruption was glorified. Even though the Arubans were only allowed to gamble for a few hours per month, they were the big winners. The dealer, (Aruban), would pay off on every bet to his (brother, cousin, sister, parent), whether they won or not. The dealer would lift $1,000 in chips behind his back, which the pit boss walking behind, would gladly except. You can never let the employees run the operation.

When so many here complain that all Thai's are dishonest and corrupt, which I do not believe, why would you mandate they have 100% control?

[Mudcrab]

Who wins by installing casino's? The casino, the maffia and all the corrupt controllers...All the others are losing...

Sigh . . . so easy to just pound out a over-simplistic response based on your moral precepts.

First off, casinos have to have staff. In addition to low paid waitresses, janitors, etc, there are many good and even high paying jobs ranging from dealers to hotel staff to security specialists, to casino management.

That doesn't even include the services the casino would require which would employ even more people.

Thailand's biggest tourism problem is that they can't upgrade without offering something people are willing to pay more for. If they want more baht spent per arrival then they need to offer something on par with what people can get elsewhere and are already paying more for.

If the proposal on the table is for dingy casinos that tourists would never set a foot in, then yes, there's no need for casinos. But if they plan on building casino resorts where people may a higher price for everything, they'll attract more affluent tourists who will spend more money not only in the casino but during their entire stay.

If they do it right and charge a "membership" fee for locals which is too prohibitive for anybody but the upper-scale Thais to afford, I don't really see how this is any more harmful to Thailand than another shopping mall filled with goods that most Thais can't afford.

Similar to the Thai price and the Farang price at National Parks and other attractions?;