The casino areas at Thailand’s first integrated resorts would take up around 5% of total floor space and locals required to prove they meet certain income thresholds under a report set to be deliberated on today.
The report also names Bangkok and areas inside Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) – which includes the likes of Pattaya and Rayong – as the most suitable locations and proposes investment greater than that of Singapore’s two IRs, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
According to a report by The Bangkok Post, details of the study will be deliberated on today although any final bill on the legalization of casino gaming is unlikely to be passed before the current House term ends on 28 February.
Among the key points to be made public ahead of today’s meeting include a recommendation that casino areas comprise around 5% of total floor space, with the remainder to incorporate attractions such as five-star hotels, shopping malls, beauty and spa parlours, amusement parks, zoos, and indoor and outdoor sports stadiums, according to a source.
Entry to casinos would be open to foreigners and locals of 21 years and above although the latter would need to show that they held at least TBH500,000 (US$15,000) in their accounts for the previous six months.
The Bangkok Post report also claims the study wants IR complexes to be declared special administrative areas, to be funded by the public and private sectors and for the budget to be “bigger than a similar project undertaken in Singapore.”
Bangkok, Pattaya and other cities inside the EEC, as well as those within a 100-kilometre radius of Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao airports, are seen as the most suitable locations with 22 tourism provinces named as second choice. Those locations considered only third best, and therefore unlikely to be chosen, include Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi and Chiang Mai, among others.
The House Committee studying the feasibility of developing integrated resorts with legal casinos first submitted its findings last July, including a recommendation that gaming revenue be taxed at 30%.
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