The Thai government announced the results of the public hearing on the draft "Comprehensive Entertainment Venues Act," with over 70,000 public participants in the consultation, 80% of whom expressed support and 20% opposition, along with several amendment suggestions, including lowering the deposit threshold and setting a betting limit.
Thai media reported that the Fiscal Policy Office of the Ministry of Finance announced the results of the public hearing on the draft "Comprehensive Entertainment Venues Act." The hearing took place from February 28 to March 14, with over 71,000 participants in the consultation. The results showed that approximately 80% of the public supported the bill, while 20% opposed it, and various suggestions were made for each chapter of the bill, summarized as follows:
General Principles—80.75% support, 19.25% opposition
The public proposed refining the definitions of certain terms, such as "comprehensive entertainment venue business" defined as "providing tourism, leisure, or entertainment services"; referencing the definition of "gambling" in the "Gambling Act," and clarifying the details of "minister-appointed personnel" in the definition of "officials"; suggesting adjustments to the license authority structure, eliminating the need for joint responsibility of the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister to prevent issues of duplicate license issuance, ensuring clarity in the enactment of subordinate legislation and the exercise of regulatory powers.
The Fiscal Policy Office explained that the 1935 "Gambling Act" did not define "gambling," hence it could not reference the definition from that act, but other suggestions would be considered in further deliberations of the draft.
Specific suggestions include: allowing foreign gamblers to bring funds into and out of Thailand unrestricted, permitting licensees to engage in currency exchange operations within casinos; increasing the participation of private sector, public, and independent expert representatives in the policy committee, and establishing an independent review committee; setting a minimum number of experts (not less than three), adding experts in technology and corporate social responsibility, including civil society representatives, while ensuring transparent selection processes; clarifying committee meeting and voting rules, allowing electronic meetings.
The Fiscal Policy Office stated that according to Section 6/1 of the "Foreign Exchange Control Act," to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorism financing, fund transfers must comply with this law and its subordinate regulations. The 1954 ministerial regulation states that no one may engage in foreign exchange payment business unless permitted by the minister or registered by officials.
Therefore, if comprehensive entertainment venue licensees provide foreign exchange payment services, they must obtain permission or registration under the "Foreign Exchange Control Act" to ensure national financial security. Regarding electronic meetings, the 2020 "Electronic Meeting Act" Article 6 has stipulated that the chairman of the comprehensive entertainment venues committee has the authority to decide to hold electronic meetings.
