Thailand Casino Opposition Claims Referendum Threshold Met
Posted on: June 17, 2025, 12:52h.
Last updated on: June 16, 2025, 03:09h.
- Thailand’s government is considering legalizing casinos
- There is robust opposition to the gaming push
- PM Shinawatra thinks casinos will diversify Thailand’s economy
Opposition to allowing Las Vegas-like resorts to come to Thailand says it has adequate support by way of signature gathering to prompt a countrywide referendum.
The Stop Gambling Foundation of Thailand, a group backed by more than 200 local and national civil organizations, claims it’s garnered over 53,900 petition signatures from Thai residents who oppose the Pheu Thai Party’s continued crusade to legalize casino slot machines and table games in the Southeast Asia nation. Thailand’s National Referendum Act requires referendum campaigns to collect at least 50K citizen signatures.
Thailand’s Electoral Commission will now work to certify the signatures. If the 50K threshold is met, the referendum will be forwarded to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s Cabinet for consideration.
A referendum would provide the government with a clear mandate from the people, reducing public resistance, and give investors confidence in the legal framework supporting casino developments,” said Thanakorn Khomkrit of the Stop Gambling Foundation, as reported by the Bangkok Post.
A member of the Pheu Thai, the party created by her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Shinawatra believes Thailand must diversify its tourism and leisure travel economy to better compete with the Philippines and Singapore where integrated resort casinos operate.
Opposition Says Casino Bill Rushed
Currently, the only forms of legal gambling in Thailand are the state-run lottery and parimutuel betting on horse races. That’s been the case since 1935 when Thai lawmakers passed the Gambling Act.
Though deliberations to authorize new forms of gambling have been considered in recent years, the young, influential Shinawatra has made it a priority to get a casino bill across the finish line since assuming office last August after the removal of PM Srettha Thavisin.
Thailand’s youngest prime minister ever, the 38-year-old is also only the second woman to hold the position following her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was prime minister from August 2011 through May 2014. At the direction of Shinawatra, the current Pheu Thai-controlled National Assembly has hurried a casino bill since she took office almost a year ago.
Opponents say the legislative process has moved far too quickly. They are pushing back on Shinawatra’s comments that Singapore used its casino duopoly to attract big spenders from many Asian countries, including China, which injected the city-state with much economic activity and diversified its tourism industry. She’s said similar remarks about the Philippines where multibillion-dollar casino resorts occupy Manila’s Entertainment City.
Singapore spent a decade conducting thorough research and public consultation before making its decision,” said Wasinee Sonsaeb of the Youth Network Against Gambling, one of the Stop Gambling Foundation members. “To cherry-pick only the aspects of foreign models that serve one’s agenda while ignoring the rest is irresponsible.”
Though gambling is outlawed, Thailand is home to countless small, underground gambling outfits that are often associated with other forms of crime, including money laundering, drugs, and prostitution.
Referendum Can’t Block Lawmakers
In Thailand, citizen-led national referendums are primarily used by the public to express opposition to a government bill or decision.
Much of the public is against bringing casinos to Thailand, with the latest version of the Pheu Thai bill seeking to allow resorts in Bangkok, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, and Phuket. Shinawatra’s government is supportive of allowing two casinos in the capital city and a single casino in the other four targeted areas.
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