By Thai Newsroom Reporters
A PUBLIC REFERENDUM may be held for the people to decide whether an entertainment complex which will definitely include a casino should be licitly open anywhere in Thailand, according to a lawmaker.
Former Democrat leader/now Democrat MP Jurin Laksanavisit posted on his Facebook page today (Jan. 18) to suggest that the Pheu Thai-led government conduct a public referendum to see whether a majority of people will either support or oppose the planned construction of an entertainment complex which will most certainly include a licitly-operating casino in the neighbourhood of internationally-renowned tourist spots of Pattaya, Phuket and Bangkok, among others.
Jurin insisted that the people nationwide be given the opportunity to make a final decision on such contentious schemes which had not been raised as part of any parties’ previous electoral campaigns.
The proposal for public referendum was offered after the Pheu Thai-led cabinet had recently approved legislation to set up an entertainment complex somewhere with purported intent to attract world tourists and compete against those in Osaka, Macau and Singapore and collect enormous amounts of taxes from casino operators.
Nevertheless, critics have contended that suspected “grey” Chinese and other transnational criminals such as call-centre scammers, online gambling operators and drug dealers would effortlessly turn a casino in this country into a lawful venue for the laundering of their ill-gotten money and that certain figures in government would likely have high stakes in the casino business, albeit in clandestine fashion.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Representative images of a casino by Thai Rath
Insert: Former Democrat leader/now Democrat MP Jurin Laksanavisit. Photo: Naewna
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