Ex-PM Abhisit slams casino bill

Ex-premier Abhisit Vejjajiva has issued a strong rebuke of the government's plan to establish integrated entertainment complexes with a casino, warning they will not solve illegal gambling and may damage Thailand's tourism image.

- AEKARACH SATTABURUTH

Speaking before a Senate panel tasked with studying the government's “Thailand Entertainment Complexes” proposal, he said legalising casinos would not eliminate the underground economy, as is often claimed.

"When I was in office, I rejected similar proposals because the dangers of gambling-linked crime are real," he said. "The idea that legal casinos can clean up the underground economy is flawed. Look at government lotteries versus underground ones — they coexist."

Even if this type of business is made legal, it cannot reduce the illegal side of it, because bringing it above ground requires rules and regulations, he said.