charges foes of creating confusion
PUBLISHED: 5 May 2025 at 04: 20
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has criticized opponents of the proposed game entertainment complex, accusing social rivals of using video games to stir up criticism and public discord.
The top defended the contentious job, saying it could boost significant foreign investment and financial options without burdening citizens, during an interview with NBT’s Empowering Thais with PM Paetongtarn program.
The investment is made by private and foreign funds, not from the government or the person’s income dollars. That results in more tax profit, particularly from regulated gambling, according to Ms. Paetongtarn.
She argued that the development should not be seen as just creating a game and would adhere to the” Singapore type.” Hotels, music venues, convention centers, and a top-notch, strictly regulated game complex would be included in the proposed complex.
It’s about ethical gambling, she said. To prevent someone from walking in the dreaming of winning thousands and leaving with it, there will be rigid rules, background checks, and safety standards. That’s not how it functions.
The prime minister warned that intensifying political objectives were distorting the tale surrounding the program, inducing the people into thinking it would lead to sin.
She said that” some]critics are using the matter to obtain political advantage, giving the impression that Thailand is about to become a haven of sin, which is just not true.”
” Look at Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and the United States– they all embrace the idea of man-made attractions to promote economic growth.
She emphasized that the entertainment complex initiative represents a crucial opportunity to catch up with international trends, bring tourists year-round, and eliminate the idea of a low period in the hospitality industry.
She cited Japan’s plan to convert the Osaka World Expo site into an entertainment complex by 2030 as a model for its development and said,” We don’t want to look back and regret that Thailand was too slow again.”
This is our chance when we observe things worldwide and wonder why Thailand doesn’t include them.
However, there are still strong opposition tones.
Thanakorn Komkrit, the Stop Gambling Foundation’s secretary-general, posted a notice on Instagram about how casinos can turn into a breeding ground for money laundering the day before the broadcast.
According to Mr. Thanakorn, citing a 2024 UNODC report on casinos, international crime, and illegal financing in Southeast Asia, non-financial entities like casinos frequently evade rigid regulation, making them ideal for money laundering.
According to Mr. Thanakorn, the report lists a number of ways to launder money at casinos, including converting illegal cash into betting chips and back again, cooperation between players, junket tours that make it possible for VIP gambling to spread across borders, and layered monetary transactions with mysterious origins.
Are we prepared to handle this kind of 24-hour laundry pleasure? Mr. Thanakorn posed a question in his article about the growing concern that Thai legalization of gambling might lead to legal filtration as he investigated the situation.