A dramatic U-turn in Thailand has seen officials backtrack on a move that would have essentially excluded the vast majority of Thai citizens from its proposed land-based casinos.
It had previously been touted that Thai officials would implement a rule that meant that Thai citizens would need at least $1.5m in assets to access casinos in the country.
However, underlining the country’s major plans to build a significant gaming ecosystem, these plans have been paused as they would exclude too many local players from the casinos.
Significant amendments to the bill will see a three-year tax history being enough to ensure that Thai nationals can enter the premises and gamble.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat told reporters that the previously touted criteria for entry to casinos would fail to solve issues of illegal gambling, as he underlined that there were just 10,000 deposit accounts in the country with more than 50m baht, which would mean a large number of players would simply be unable to enter casinos.
The value of the market is set to be elevated significantly if it is inclusive of domestic players, rather than just being focused on tourists.
Further underpinning the potential of the Thai market and its gambling ecosystem, there has also been speculation over a future for iGaming in the region.
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra previously expressed his appetite for legislation of the vertical in Thailand, as he emphasised the major impact it could have on the growth of the economy.
Furthermore, with daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the current PM, the influence of her father, who served as leader of the country for five years from 2001, is believed to be significant.
He cited the black market already being prevalent in Thailand, as he underpinned the potential of diverting the users towards a regulated market that is safer and also benefits the economy.
The former leader stated: “Online gambling has two to four million Thai users with savings of 300bn baht and gains and losses of about 500bn per year.”
Pontificating over just how much money the industry could generate, he emphasised that “if we can tax 20% we would get more than 100bn per year”.
It also comes as the desire from operators for expansion into Thailand is increasing, after it was reported on Genting Malaysia’s investor call at the end of the year that they could challenge rival subsidiary Genting Singapore for a footprint in the region.
The change could, however, add fuel to opposition criticism over the bill following the Palang Pracharath Party citing the impact of the gambling bill in its no-confidence vote in the government.
The opposition party has urged stakeholders to be aware of the increased power that would be granted to the government and the Prime Minister as a result of the new bill. Opposition Deputy leader, Chaimongkol Chairop, questioned whether the government could find other sources to generate revenue, as the bill’s development would “taint and damage” the country.
