Thailand to move ahead with casino plan
published : 5 Sep 2024 at 13:36
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Reuters
The government will move ahead with plans for a mega entertainment complex that would house casinos in Thailand, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said on Thursday.
A public hearing has ended and 80% of those who attended agreed with the plan, Mr Julapun said.
Mr Julapun, of the Pheu Thai Party, said the public hearing was organised for concerned parties to discuss the entertainment complex bill drafted by the Ministry of Finance. The bill will legalise entertainment complexes of which casinos will form a part.
The bill would be submitted to the cabinet. If the coalition parties support it, the bill will go to the Council of State then to the House of Representatives, the deputy minister added.
Most forms of gambling are currently illegal in the kingdom, though underground betting is rampant.
The Finance Ministry study last month showed that the government's proposed entertainment complex project, which includes a casino, is expected to primarily attract Thai gamblers, accounting for up to 90% of customers.
The casino entrance fee for Thais will not exceed 5,000 baht per person, according to a source.
Learn from listening
Vocabulary
- bill: a proposal for a law - ร่างกฎหมาย
- cabinet: the group of government ministers who make and approve government policy - คณะรัฐมนตรี
- casino: a building where gambling games, especially roulette and card games are played for money - บ่อนการพนัน
- draft: something, e.g., a written proposal for changes to the constitution, a law, etc. that may be changed before it is finished - ร่างกฎหมาย
- gambling: the activity of betting money, for example in a game or on a horse race - การพนัน
- House of Representatives: the largest part of Congress in the US, or of the Parliament in Australia and Thailand - สภาผู้แทนราษฎร
- primarily: mainly - ส่วนใหญ่, อย่างสำคัญ, แรกเริ่ม, ส่วนมาก
- public hearing: an official meeting at which the facts about a situation, etc. are discussed with members of the public taking part - ประชาพิจารณ์
- rampant: existing, happening or spreading in an uncontrolled way - รุกลาม อาละวาด กำเริบ รุนแรงจนควบคุมไว้ไม่ได้
- source: a place where information comes from; someone who gives information - แหล่ง
- submitted (verb): formally given to someone, usually, but not always, so that they can make a decision about it - ยื่น
