More Thai netizens are joining campaigns fighting against the Paetongtarn government’s so-called ‘casino bill’, which has been rescheduled for debate in parliament next week.
On their Facebook pages, they wrote, in both Thai and English, “I am against the casino bill” or “I don’t want Thailand to have a casino” under a red banner. Friends on Facebook have been sharing invitations to join the campaign.
A campaign, initiated by former red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan, now a leading anti-Thaksin advocate, is inviting people to show support for their movement by wearing white, as a symbol of opposition to the, bill introduced by the ruling Pheu Thai Party, led by Paetongtarn.
Jatuporn and other leading activists gathered near Government House recently, to protest against the draft Entertainment Complex Bill (the ‘casino bill’), which includes provisions for a casino.
They are pushing for the bill to be scrapped, arguing that what the government really wants is not a general entertainment complex, but casinos.
The group has already submitted a list of 112,498 signatures, collected through a campaign against the bill, to the government.
The government claims, however, that the casino would only account for ten percent of the complex’s area and that the project aims to eliminate underground online gambling, while boosting tourism in Thailand.
Meanwhile, more civil society groups are speaking out against the bill, demanding that the government either cancel or delay it.
These groups include members of the Academy of Moral and Political Science at the Royal Society of Thailand. They state that, while their society has no administrative power, they possess intellectual and academic authority to assert that Thailand does not need a casino or any other form of legalised gambling.
Another group, the Stop Gambling Foundation, launched the “We don’t want a casino” campaign, inviting people to sign a petition online.
Senior doctors and medical personnel have also joined the opposition to legalised casinos in Thailand.
