Thailand: Requirement of B50M in Account for Casino Entry Removed

The Thailand’s Entertainment Complex Bill has been amended, removing the requirement that Thais must show they have at least 50 million in a fixed deposit before being allowed into the planned casino-entertainment complex.

It has been replaced by the need to have filed three-years of income tax returns.

The requirement is in Section 65 of the draft Entertainment Complex Bill, which has been under scrutiny by the Council of State, the government’s legal advisory body.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Pichai Chunhavajira said the draft had now been reviewed by the council and revisions proposed to meet its objectives, including listening to feedback from the public.

The revised draft legislation had been signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnivirakul and sent to the cabinet secretariat on Feb 28, but it would not be on this week’s cabinet agenda, Mr Pichai said.

The process prior to submitting the bill to the cabinet would take about two weeks, he said.

Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat confirmed that the 50 million baht requirement for casino entry had been removed and replaced by the requirement that Thais must have submitted three-years of tax returns.

The casino entrance fee remained at 5000 baht, he said.

“The Ministry has checked the data and found there are only 10,000 Thai accounts with at least 50 million baht. So, the former requirement would push people to gamble elsewhere, which could be illegal. This amendment has been agreed on by the ministry and the Council of State,” Mr Julapun said.

He said the draft bill would be submitted to the cabinet for approval as soon as possible. He expected this would be during the current parliamentary session.

On Monday, representatives of several protest groups – the Network of Students and People for Thailand’s Reform, the Centre of People for the Protection of the Monarchy, and the Dharma Army – gathered near government house in Bangkok.

They submitted a letter to the prime minister opposing passage of the legislation. They argued that it would be harmful to the people, the country and the principles of all religions.