March 8, 2008
BANGKOK - Only a third of Thais support the plan to introduce casinos to Thailand, according to a survey.
Just over 56 percent of people polled by Assumption University said they did not want to see casinos on Thai soil, expressing concerns that people may get hooked on gambling and quit their jobs.
Nearly 32 percent said they supported the plan because it could bring more money to the kingdom.
2,726 Thais surveyed in 18 provinces this week said they were neither for or against casinos.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said that he planned to build five casinos open to both foreign holidaymakers and Thai citizens in the tourist hotspots of Phuket, Pattaya, Khon Kaen, Hat Yai and Chiang Mai, according to AFP.
The move drew a backlash from social conservatives, who said the gambling havens could spawn social ills such as addiction.
Gambling is illegal in Thailand, but Thais flock to neighbouring Cambodia and Myanmar where casinos dot the border.
Thais bet nearly one billion dollars on the 2006 World Cup.
It is interesting that about 55 percent of the Thais polled by Assumption University said that they thought gambling was a normal part of life in Thailand.
