Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2022年3月 亞博匯 24 COVER STORY “Look at the countries around us,” he said. “Our people visit those casinos too.” Despite Prime Minister Prayut launchingacrackdownon underground casinos – shortly after claiming the leadership by way of a military coup in 2014 – which sources say eliminated up to 80% of those in operation at the time, a government panel established in February 2021 found there were still around 200 illegal gambling dens operating nationwide, including 47 in the Bangkok metropolitan area. Yet talk of legalizing casinos in Thailand is nothing new. It was even somewhat close to becoming a reality back in 2003, when then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra went as far as meeting with representatives of US casino giant MGM Resorts, or MGM Mirage as it was known at the time. Rather than navigate the difficult path of passing a specific casino law, Thaksin had recognized that simply amending the current Gambling Act of 1935 – which allows for betting on a small number of select activities such as horse racing, cockfighting, combat sports and the lottery – to include casinos was a more realistic path forward. He was likely correct, but more pressing matters would ultimately consume Thaksin’s time before he fell victim to an earlier military coup in 2006. In 2008, newly appointed Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej promised to open casinos in five major tourist centers – Pattaya, Phuket, Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai and Hat 若當地媒體的報道可信，則這次 在泰國推動賭場賭博合法化的舉措，至 少部分是由新冠疫情而起。據悉泰總理 巴育十分擔心非法賭博網點已經成為超 級傳播者的溫床。儘管他本人持反對觀 點，但顯然對公開討論賭博合法化的利 弊持開放態度。 副總理巴威將軍也曾在1月份指出， 泰國沒有賭場並不能阻止其公民賭博。 「看看我們周圍的國家。」他表 示，「我們的人也會去那些賭場。」 儘管巴育總理在2014年通過軍事 政變取得領導權後，不久就開始打擊地 下賭場，有消息稱該行動導致約八成的 地下賭場被取締，但一個成立於2021年 2月的政府小組發現，泰國全國目前仍 大概存在約200個非法賭博窩點尚在營 運，其中曼谷市區就有47個。 事實上，有關泰國賭場合法化探討 早已非新鮮事。 早在2003年，以上探討甚至差點成 為現實。當時的總統他信曾會見了美國 博彩業巨擘、當時尚未改名為美高梅國 際酒店集團的MGM Mirage的代表。他 信意識到，簡單修訂現行的《Gambling Act 1935》——該法案允許在少數特定 活動中進行賭博行為，如賽馬、鬥雞、 格鬥運動及樂透等——並將賭場增添其 中是一條更為現實的發展道路。儘管 他可能是對的，但在2006年軍事政變 下台之前，他信一直在處理更為緊迫 的事務。 2008年，新上任的總理沙瑪承 諾，若其能完成四年任期，則將在 五個主要旅遊中心——芭堤雅、布吉 島、孔敬、清邁及合艾開設賭場。 「我們必須認真研究如何開設 合法賭場。」他當時表示，「這樣的 話，非法窩點和私人賭場就會關閉。 如果人們想賭博，他們可以來這裏， 這樣警察也就不必打擊（非法窩點） 。」