Galaxy mulls billions for city casino in Bangkok

The group is headquartered in Macau and owns a number of casinos in the Chinese city.

Kevin Clayton, chief brand officer at Galaxy Resorts Thailand, said steady post-pandemic tourism gains in Thailand should maintain the same pace if the growth is organic.

He said government initiatives such as the plan to host Formula One and build an entertainment complex show its ambition to leverage tourism, with foreign arrivals potentially rising from 36 million to 50 million, increasing the targeted revenue to 5 trillion baht from 3 trillion, while contributing 30% of GDP, up from 20%.

"To generate this level of growth the country needs a sizeable level of investment in key attractions to attract both frequent travellers and first-time visitors. We're interested in Bangkok, which deserves a truly iconic complex," said Mr Clayton.

For arrivals who check in at hotels in Thailand, only 15% stay longer than two nights at a single hotel, including in Bangkok, he said.

Given the intense opposition to the entertainment complex bill, prompting the cabinet to delay deliberating on the agenda last week, Mr Clayton said the social issues should be addressed properly if gambling is to be legalised.

"The propensity for gambling in Thailand is relatively high, with 99% of people acquainted with someone who gambles, while 60% participated in gambling themselves and 30% engaged in online gambling, despite it being unregulated and illegal," he said.

Mr Clayton said leaving those activities underground has prevented some social problems from being resolved because of a lack of intervention and support network, which the entertainment complex industry can offer.

"The entertainment complex industry is heavily regulated. You probably won't find a more regulated environment than this, whether in terms of customer acquisition, responsible gambling, or anti-money laundering," he said.

Mr Clayton said the group is not only looking to bring multi-billion-dollar investments to this project, but also wants to work with regulators to ensure money laundering is prevented and gambling problems can be effectively managed. He said the group wants to form a collective force to manage an intervention and education programme.