Most Thais see casinos as essential part of entertainment complex bill: survey

Most Thai voters believe that casinos are part and parcel of the controversial entertainment complex bill, and that without them, the bill would never clear the House of Representatives, an opinion survey has found.

The survey was conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida Poll) among 1,310 respondents nationwide from 21 to 23 April. The respondents were all at least 18 years old.

The Nida Poll carried out the survey in the aftermath of Bhumjaithai Party secretary-general Chaichanok Chidchob’s recent announcement of his position that he would never support the legalisation of casinos.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party has claimed that casinos would be just a small part of the entertainment complexes to be established once the bill is enacted.

When asked whether they thought the bill would clear the House if casino legalisation were removed from the bill, respondents replied:

• 46.18%: No
• 32.67%: Yes
• 19.01%: It would be impossible for the bill to be tabled in the House without casino legalisation
• 2.14%: No comment

When asked which they attached more importance to between casinos and entertainment venues in the bill, respondents replied:

• 45.73%: Neither
• 27.24%: Attached equal importance to both
• 19.47%: Entertainment venues
• 7.56%: Casinos

When asked for their views on Chaichanok’s stance on the issue, the top five responses from respondents were (more than one answer allowed):

• 35.80%: It was a righteous stand
• 29.08%: Chaichanok set a condition for political bargaining
• 27.63%: It was an individual stance that did not represent Bhumjaithai’s position
• 22.44%: He simply sought publicity but would eventually have to comply with the party’s position
• 20.38%: Pheu Thai would eventually manage to pass the casino bill