Inside Asian Gaming

IAG OCT 2022年10月 亞博匯 68 “The bottom line is they are not very good at planning ahead for the long term. In terms of regulation, if you want to look at a debacle it’s the recent legislation around the legalization of marijuana. The basis of that was quite good – they were going to legalize for medical purposes only – but the legislation that went through allowed pretty much carte blanche legalization of marijuana. “With casinos, as far as I can tell, most people who are in favor think it’s a great idea because it will make a lot of money for the country, which is fair enough, but they don’t understand the regulatory and governmental will that needs to be put in place for the industry to be successful. I don’t think the politicians understand that. “Business might understand that and will maybe work together with the government, FEATURES but I think it will be a long, drawn out process. It doesn’t mean we won’t see casinos in Thailand before we see MGM open [its planned IR] in Japan (slated for 2029 if approved), but what kind of casinos they will be remains to be seen. I have my doubts.” It isn’t all bad news for Thailand, however – particularly given recent speculation linking it with US casino giants Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and MGM Resorts.