THE Council of State has been given 50 days to review the draft Entertainment Complex Act after the Cabinet approved the landmark legislative proposal in principle on Jan. 13 with this opening the door for casinos to be part of larger entertainment complexes, Amarin TV said today (Jan. 21).
Mr. Pakorn Nilprapan, the Council of State’s secretary-general, said the review is in line with government policy with only a “man-made destination” approach being taken as it will be difficult if other factors are considered.
Asked how long it would take to gather opinions, Pakorn said as the government has set this deadline because it is an urgent legislation the council has to hurry up and complete the review with one meeting having already been held and quite a lot of progress made in terms of the outline.
The council is not focusing on casinos or any issues related to it but is looking at it from the perspective of man-made destinations, he said, adding establishment of a casino would have to be in accordance with existing laws.
Asked whether it would be necessary to hold a referendum on this issue, Pakorn said this is up to the executive branch which might launch one if it sees that it is an important matter or had a lot of impact.
The Council of State is not a policy-making body so cannot decide whether a referendum should be undertaken.
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