Richest Thai wants to legalise casinos
Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of Thailand’s largest agro-conglomerate CP Group, said it is time for the Kingdom to legalise gambling.
Speaking at Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s 20th anniversary symposium on July 27, Chearavanont said that legalising casinos would attract more tourists to the country and would help curb the establishment of illegal gambling halls throughout the country, “which is a fact and we have to face the truth with it.”
He added that legal casinos could also drive tax income as opposed to illegal ones that do not pay taxes at all.
Chearavanont is said to have a net worth of $7.4 billion, according to Forbes Magazine, which makes him the richest Thai businessman. He was also honoured Asia’s 2011 Businessman of the Year by Forbes.
As a general rule, gambling is illegal in Thailand. However, a state lottery is run twice a month, and there are transboundary lotteries, football matches, illegal bookmaking at horse races, boxing matches, cockfights and fish fights.
The gambling sector in Thailand is estimated to turn over around $30 million a year, one third of which is going to underground lotteries and other gambling establishments. Police are conducting regular crackdowns on illegal gambling halls, but with no noteable results on the sector, and gambling remains a major source of income for the black economy.
Neighbouring countries Laos and Cambodia have reacted to Thailand’s ban on gambling by setting up casinos just across the border, namly at the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border to Cambodia where seven casinos mainly cater to Thai gamblers. Another two casinos are located at the Had Lek/Koh Kong border on Cambodian soil, and others just across the Mekong in Laos.
There are also a number on online casinos and cruise ships where gamblers from Thailand can play.
Thailand and Brunei are the only countries in ASEAN which do not allow casinos. Even the Muslim nations of Malaysia and Indonesia allow casinos in special resorts, at Genting Highlands and Batam Island, respectively.
[caption id="attachment_4009" align="alignleft" width="240"] Dhanin-Chearavanont, chairman of CP Group and the wealthiest man in Thailand[/caption] Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of Thailand's largest agro-conglomerate CP Group, said it is time for the Kingdom to legalise gambling. Speaking at Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission's 20th anniversary symposium on July 27, Chearavanont said that legalising casinos would attract more tourists to the country and would help curb the establishment of illegal gambling halls throughout the country, "which is a fact and we have to face the truth with it." He added that legal casinos could also drive tax income as opposed to illegal ones...
Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of Thailand’s largest agro-conglomerate CP Group, said it is time for the Kingdom to legalise gambling.
Speaking at Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission’s 20th anniversary symposium on July 27, Chearavanont said that legalising casinos would attract more tourists to the country and would help curb the establishment of illegal gambling halls throughout the country, “which is a fact and we have to face the truth with it.”
He added that legal casinos could also drive tax income as opposed to illegal ones that do not pay taxes at all.
Chearavanont is said to have a net worth of $7.4 billion, according to Forbes Magazine, which makes him the richest Thai businessman. He was also honoured Asia’s 2011 Businessman of the Year by Forbes.
As a general rule, gambling is illegal in Thailand. However, a state lottery is run twice a month, and there are transboundary lotteries, football matches, illegal bookmaking at horse races, boxing matches, cockfights and fish fights.
The gambling sector in Thailand is estimated to turn over around $30 million a year, one third of which is going to underground lotteries and other gambling establishments. Police are conducting regular crackdowns on illegal gambling halls, but with no noteable results on the sector, and gambling remains a major source of income for the black economy.
Neighbouring countries Laos and Cambodia have reacted to Thailand’s ban on gambling by setting up casinos just across the border, namly at the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border to Cambodia where seven casinos mainly cater to Thai gamblers. Another two casinos are located at the Had Lek/Koh Kong border on Cambodian soil, and others just across the Mekong in Laos.
There are also a number on online casinos and cruise ships where gamblers from Thailand can play.
Thailand and Brunei are the only countries in ASEAN which do not allow casinos. Even the Muslim nations of Malaysia and Indonesia allow casinos in special resorts, at Genting Highlands and Batam Island, respectively.
