Hopes for reviving Thailand’s casino bill have collapsed following the removal of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra by the Constitutional Court.
The draft bill to legalize casinos as part of integrated resorts had already been withdrawn in July amid a political crisis sparked by a leaked phone call between Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, during which she criticized the Thai army. According to Shinawatra, her remarks were part of a broader strategy to ease tensions.
Following the leak, Shinawatra was temporarily suspended from office, while protesters called for her resignation. The Bhumjaithai Party withdrew from the ruling coalition, stripping the prime minister of her parliamentary majority.
Now, the Constitutional Court has voted six to three in favor of her removal, ruling that Shinawatra’s actions violated the ethical standards expected of her office.
The withdrawn bill, spearheaded by Shinawatra, sought to establish casinos within integrated resorts aimed at boosting economic growth through foreign tourism. Proposed locations included Bangkok, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, and Phuket. Gambling space was to be limited to no more than 10% of the total resort area.
However, the initiative faced strong resistance from both the public and opposition parties. According to data published in July by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), 57% of respondents opposed the creation of entertainment complexes with casinos, compared to 59% in earlier surveys.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra has now become the latest member of the Shinawatra political dynasty to lose power. She took office in August 2024. Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a 2006 military coup, while her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, was removed by the Constitutional Court in 2014.
Thailand’s modern political history has been marked by instability: since 2008, the Constitutional Court has removed five prime ministers from office.
Both Thaksin and Paetongtarn Shinawatra supported the legalization of gambling, citing its economic benefits. Thaksin had also previously called for regulating online gambling, arguing that the country was losing significant revenue to the black market.
The Bhumjaithai Party, however, now claims it can form a new ruling coalition and has consistently opposed casino legalization. Its leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, has argued that the decline in Chinese tourism was caused by the Shinawatra administration’s entertainment complex policy. As a result, the chances of a similar bill being revived under new leadership are slim.
Still, despite the official opposition of Thailand’s political parties, their stance may shift in the future given the economic potential of the sector. Before the bill’s collapse, MGM Resorts had announced its willingness to invest between $3 billion and $5 billion in a casino project in Bangkok.
Meanwhile, media reports estimate that Thailand’s illegal gambling market generates $33.2 billion annually – comparable to the size of Australia’s regulated gambling market, which contributes around $1.2 billion in annual tax revenue.
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