The cabinet on Monday approved in principle a bill paving the way for setting up entertainment complexes and allowing casinos to operate legally within them.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the Entertainment Complex Bill, proposed by the Finance Ministry, would promote tourism and investments in accordance with the government's policy while tackling widespread illegal gambling.
She insisted the Council of State (CoS), the government's legal advisory body, did not oppose the bill but had suggested some revisions to reflect the government's policy on tourism.
Ms Paetongtarn said the bill would not require further examination from the CoS and would be forwarded to parliament for consideration.
The prime minister said the government would do its best to push for the bill's passage before the end of this year, noting that Singapore's tourism was bolstered following the setting up of casino complexes.
Asked about links between casino operations and organised crime, she said that with effective enforcement, legalising gambling would help solve the problem while also putting more revenue into state coffers.
"If we can ensure transparency, it will benefit the country. This issue is relatively new here, so we need to explain it clearly. Ministries concerned will address the details to ensure everyone gets the whole picture," she said.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the bill, which outlined a framework for integrated facilities, including malls, hotels, sports arenas, and theme parks, was in line with the government policy to create man-made tourism destinations.
Such models have been successful worldwide, with casino-entertainment complexes expected to boost foreign tourist numbers by 5 to 10%, encourage off-season spending by at least 13% and create between 9,000 and 15,000 jobs, he said.
They would generate revenue of 12 billion to 40 billion baht for the state with most of the income deriving from hotels and other businesses within the complexes, not from casino operations, he noted.
Mr Julapun said the CoS would review the bill to make sure it reflects government policy over the next two months before introducing it to parliament.
Pakorn Nilprapunt, secretary-general of the CoS, said the agency did not oppose the bill.
However, he pointed out that its contents were based on a House committee briefed to report on casino-entertainment complexes, which might be too limited for the government's policy objectives.
According to Mr Pakorn, the CoS, therefore, suggested revisions to align the bill with broader government objectives and also pointed out that the casino-entertainment projects were not intended to directly resolve illegal gambling as that is regulated under another law.
A source close to the government said the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) also made some observations about the bill.
According to the NESDC, gambling revenue is not considered as adding value to the economy because it does not contribute to production. As a result, economic benefits of casino operations may fall short of expectations.
As casino operations have some negative social impacts, the Finance Ministry was advised to conduct a thorough study and gather input from various sectors.
It also recommended the government explore alternatives with fewer social repercussions to drive the economy.
A network of anti-gambling advocacy groups on Monday issued a statement urging the government to weigh the impacts on children and families before pushing ahead with it.
Last month, the Stop Gambling Foundation criticised the details of the bill as "diverging significantly" from the initial Singapore model.
According to the foundation, the bill allowed for significant downgrades of entertainment complex features promised earlier, such as luxury hotels and shopping malls, with the focus shifted almost entirely to casinos.
