On Thursday, Thailand’s House of Representatives elected Anutin Charnvirakul as the kingdom’s 32nd prime minister, following his victory in the February general election. With 293 votes, the Bhumjaithai Party leader comfortably surpassed People’s Party candidate Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, who took 119 votes.
Anutin took office on an interim basis last September, following the ouster of former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on ethics charges. His return dashes hopes for a revival of the Integrated Entertainment Business Act, an initiative ardently advanced by his predecessor.
Paetongtarn and her father, Thai power broker and former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, saw casinos as a way to boost post-Covid tourism, attract foreign investment and create jobs. Her administration planned five casinos in the first wave of development: two in the capital city of Bangkok and one each in Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
The call that killed the IR bill
That plan went south after Paetongtarn phoned Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen about a deadly border skirmish between the two countries. In the 17-minute call, later leaked to the public, she criticised her own military and addressed Hun Sen as “uncle”. “If you want anything,” she said, “just tell me, and I’ll take care of it.”
The call sparked nationwide outrage. Thousands of protestors gathered at Government House in Bangkok to demand Paetongtarn’s resignation. Her approval rating flatlined at just 9.2%. Within months she was out and Anutin was in.
From the start, the new prime minister declared that Thailand would have to “wait for another prime minister” to get legal casinos. Unlike supporters of the IR bill, he said legal gaming would actually inhibit Thailand’s chief tourism market: China.
In a November 2025 meeting with Xi Jinping, he assured the Chinese president that the casino plan was off the table as long as he was in office. In return, Xi pledged to support greater visitation to Thailand by Chinese travellers.
Support for Thailand casinos seen as ‘political suicide’
Drawn by a potential THB263 billion ($8 billion) market, the world’s top gaming operators had been poised to bid on a Thai casino licence. The list included all six Macau concessionaires: SJM, Melco, Galaxy, MGM Resorts, Wynn and Las Vegas Sands. At least one, Melco, had opened a Bangkok office to prepare its campaign.
Others were more skeptical. In mid-2025, Hard Rock Chairman Jim Allen said his company had “zero interest” in a Thailand IR due to “instability”.
Macau gaming consultant Ben Lee agrees. The IGamix managing partner told iGB, “The Thai gaming initiative is dead in the water for now. The longstanding social antipathy towards gaming from this predominantly Buddhist citizenry has not only continued, but rendered the issue politically suicidal.”
Marjorie Preston
Marjorie began her gaming career in 2007 and has focused on Asian gaming markets since 2020. Outside of work, she writes about travel and film and plays the drums.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/anutin-election-marks-end-of-thailand-casinos/
