As Thailand moves forward with its legislative process for the proposed entertainment complex bill, the final vote in the Lower House could only take place between September and October of this year, following a recent delay, Akkaraporn Muangsobha, a lawyer and partner at R&T Asia (Thailand) Limited, told AGB.
The bill received cabinet approval on March 27th, but the country’s Parliament has not yet been officially notified of its submission timeline.
Then this week, Thai authorities decided to postpone the parliamentary debate on the bill amid mounting opposition and a concerning international trade environment.
Still, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra emphasized that the government is not withdrawing the proposal, with the bill to maybe be “presented to the parliament in its next session” she said.
“The legislative process will involve several critical stages, including a detailed review by an appointed committee during the Bill’s second reading,” Muangsobha explained.
Prior to this decision, the Bangkok-based lawyer had predicted that this stage was expected to take “approximately two to three months, with the final vote in the Lower House anticipated around June or July this year.”
However, with the next legislative session only on July 3rd, that timeline would have to be “pushed back for three months” possibly until October, Muangsobha told AGB.
“[The issue has] become a political agenda and the opposing party has rallied social media to oppose the bill […] [The passing of the IR bill] has become more difficult now and there will be a lot of challenges moving forward” the lawyer warned.
Contentious issues remain
One of the contentious points in the current draft is the requirement for individuals to maintain a minimum balance of THB50 million ($1.5 million) in a bank account over the past six months.
However, Muangsobha noted that “both the Deputy Finance Minister and the Prime Minister have expressed the view that this criterion should be revised.”
They have suggested that tax records could serve as a more equitable measure of financial standing, indicating a potential shift in the bill’s requirements.
“While it seems likely that this requirement will be removed during the committee stage, the final outcome remains uncertain at this point,” the Bangkok-based lawyer added.
Public sensitivity
Regarding access to casinos for Thai nationals, Muangsobha highlighted that “age restrictions and an entry levy alone may not be deemed sufficient.”
Given the heightened public sensitivity surrounding this issue, the lawyer anticipates that “additional entry conditions are likely to be introduced.” However, the specifics of these conditions will only become clearer once discussions take place in Parliament.
According to the lawyer, another area of consensus appears to be the limitation on the size of the casino within the entertainment complex.
“The draft law reflects agreement that the casino space must not exceed 10 percent of the complex’s total area—a position that seems to be well accepted across the board,” Muangsobha stated.
Additionally, the draft introduces new provisions prohibiting junket operations, with penalties for non-compliance. It also classifies entertainment complexes as financial institutions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, meaning they will be required to fully comply with Thailand’s anti-money laundering regulations.
According to previous reports, Phuket is one of the selected cities for Thailand’s entertainment complex project, alongside Bangkok, Chon Buri, and Chiang Mai.
