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Feb25.indd 1 30/1/25 10:38 MACAU BUSINESS By Christopher Cottrell in Bangkok By Paolo A. Azevedo Wagering on Thailand
The year 2025 promises significant developments in Thailand’s journey toward adopting the gaming and integrated resorts model. While several questions remain unanswered, industry stakeholders are optimistic about the prospects ahead in the ‘Land of Smiles,’ with Macau’s key players closely monitoring the unfolding opportunities.
T
here will likely be five Thai Entertainment Complexes announced for 2025—but how many licences for casinos will be allowed in each of these? And which form of legislation will authorise it and when? Or is 2025 too optimistic a timetable to see any tangible laws? Will these laws be reversed or scuppered altogether if society, especially the sacred Thai Buddhist institutions, push back?
Jeju will be as big as Singapore in terms of Gross Gaming Revenue, predicts Lawrence Teo. The Chief Operations Officer and Vice President of Dream Tower, the tallest Integrated Resort under construction on the Korean destination island, explains to Macau Business why Lotte Tour decided to enter the casino business and create a landmark. All bets are on making the casino resort the crown of the tourism jewel the company has been dominating for four decades
Jeju – the new Singapore
At least this was the prevailing optimistic sentiment, and open-ended critical questions, generated at the 2–4 December 2024 Thai Entertainment Complex Summit organised by Winna Media and held at the Bangkok Marriott The Surawongse, Thailand.
The summit came in the wake of a year of momentum regarding potential gaming liberalisation in Thailand, with the legalisation of
cannabis dispensaries in 2022 greenlighting high hopes for the casino industry—especially from Macau.
In June this year, as part of the MGTO roadshow in Thailand, MGM China launched a “Macanese Food Promotion” at the Rosewood Bangkok hotel with a gala VIP dinner. Shortly after, a Bangkok Post newspaper report quoted Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool saying Pansy Ho had expressed interest in investing in Thailand’s possible entertainment complexes and that talks were being planned. MGM did not comment on this.
M 30 FEBRUARY 2025
acau Business – From Lotte World, a major recreational complex [with the world’s largest indoor theme park, in Seoul] to an integrated resort with casino in Jeju. A different beast. A
natural evolution? Lawrence Teo – Business is the same. But building
a landmark. M. B. – The group [Lotte] has created other landmarks in different types of business. Why would this be different?
to do the Dream Tower in Jeju. Lotte here is being just a family company; we’re a different company [Lotte Tour]. It’s not going to be [just] the tallest and the largest building in Jeju, that’s just the hardware. We say that a landmark should be the most visited destination, where tourists will go to eat, shop and maybe [visit] our observation deck. A must-visit point destination. Because of the hardware, and also the software.
GAMBLING ON THE LAW On 12 September, the new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra noted in a policy statement that, “Over the past 20 years, efforts have been made to legalise economic transactions that are deemed illegal, but they failed because many in society were not open to such ideas. But in recent years, past and current governments have studied the possibility.” Her ruling Pheu Thai said, “One of the strategies is to legalise and tax casinos properly.” On 21 September, the Pheu Thai Party posted a statement on their website defending the legalisation of casino-entertainment
M. B. – What are the main goals that you definitely
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