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Articles
Thai Cabinet Approves Draft Law for Casinos and Entertainment Complexes
1. Introduction and Key Points
On January 13, 2025, the Thai Cabinet approved-in-principle the Draft Entertainment Complex Business Act (“Draft Act”), which will legalize casinos and regulate entertainment complex operations. This marks a significant shift in Thailand’s regulatory landscape. The Draft Act, as promoted by the Ministry of Finance, recently has been envisioned as an important step toward revitalization of Thailand’s tourism while also creating jobs, addressing illegal gambling, and attracting domestic and foreign investment.
The proposed legislation will establish a legal framework for operation of casinos inside entertainment complexes that feature hotels, malls, restaurants, nightclubs, convention centers, theme parks, and similar facilities. Use of the casinos will be restricted to individuals 20 years of age and older. Thai citizens will be required to pay an entry fee of THB 5,000.
Since Thailand is a Buddhist majority country, there has been strong historical opposition to the legalization of gambling. Nonetheless, the ruling party, backed by the current and former prime ministers, are pushing forward with the Draft Act.
The key points addressed in the approved Draft Act are described below.
(1) Establishment of Entertainment Complexes and Key Licenses
According to Section 41 of the Draft Act, entertainment complexes must be located in certain areas, to be specified in an upcoming royal decree. Casinos also must be built and operated as part of entertainment complexes that are comprised of at least four types of entertainment businesses. The area ratio of casinos within an entertainment complex also must comply with an upcoming announcement, to be issued under the Draft Act.
The operator of an entertainment complex can be either a private company or a public company registered in Thailand, with paid-up registered capital of not less than THB 10,000 million. The operator must obtain a license to operate an entertainment complex (“License”) from a policy committee established under the Draft Act (“Committee”). The initial application fee for a License is THB 100,000, and the License fee itself is THB 5,000 million.
According to Section 48 of the Draft Act, transfer of a License is prohibited unless the Committee grants specific permission for its transfer. A License will be valid for 30 years, and the licensed operator will be required to pay an annual fee of THB 1,000 million, as set forth in Section 49 of, and the annex to, the Draft Act. The entertainment complexes themselves also are subject to a comprehensive evaluation by an office to be established under the Draft Act every five years from the date that the License is obtained.
(2) Operation of a Casino Within an Entertainment Complex
The Draft Act legalizes casino operations within an entertainment complex; Sections 52 and 53 of the Draft Act state that the play or gambling opportunities within a casino must not be connected to computer systems or electronic devices with an internet network that allows individuals outside the entertainment complex to play or participate.
Other key operational requirements in the Draft Act include:
- Section 57: An entertainment complex must maintain the ratio of Thai and foreign employees set forth in an upcoming notification from the Committee.
- Section 58: An operator who obtains a License is prohibited from inviting, advertising, promoting, or organizing promotional activities related to the casino, or from allowing any person to carry out those activities, unless all such activities comply with the criteria, procedures, and conditions specified by the management committee.
- Section 59: An operator who obtains a License may grant credit facilities to players or gamblers at the casino only in accordance with the criteria, procedures, and conditions specified by the Committee under the Draft Act.
2. Next Steps in the Legislative Process
In principle, after the cabinet approves the Draft Act, the bill will be passed to an ad-hoc committee for review. The ad-hoc committee may add to, revise, or amend certain sections of the Draft Act. Once the ad-hoc committee finalizes the draft, the Draft Act will be submitted to the Parliament, first to the House of Representatives and then to the Senate. If the Parliament approves the finalized Draft Act without further amendments, it will be presented to the king for royal endorsement and promulgation as law.
He advises on a wide range of merger-and-acquisition transactions, joint ventures, foreign direct investments, general corporate, international corporate finance, and restructurings. His expertise is advising, structuring and leading complex transactions both within and outside of Thailand. He regularly represents, among others, Japanese, Thai and international investors, international investment banks, international private equity investors, hedge funds and international corporations and financial institutions. His main areas of practice include public and private mergers and acquisitions (takeover rules), legal due diligence, joint ventures, fund raising, listings, block trades, stock exchange and securities exchange related laws, restructuring of shareholdings and general corporate advice. His additional areas of practice also cover banking and finance, renewable energy in Japan and Thailand, exchange control law, labor law, and debt restructurings. Before setting up the Bangkok office of Nishimura & Asahi in 2013, he worked with Linklaters for almost a decade. He is also a registered arbitrator of the Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI) with the areas of expertise in corporate M&A, joint venture, banking and finance, capital markets, debt restructurings and energy.