Macao casino operator, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, has established a new office in Bangkok, as it prepares to make inroads in Thailand, which is widely expected to pass a bill legalising casinos later this year.
Lawrence Ho, the chairman and chief executive of Melco, said that the new office aimed to “explore new opportunities and collaboration,” according to a Bangkok Post report published yesterday.
Attending an event organised by the Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA) on Wednesday, Ho noted that Melco’s foray into Thailand had yet to take shape, as the company was still waiting for the local government to issue more details “on investment regulations.”
However, he noted that Bangkok, Phuket and other Thai tourism hotspots offered “great potential.”
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Currently, Melco owns six properties, located in Macao, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Cyprus.
Melco is not the only Macao gaming concessionaire interested in gaining a foothold in Thailand. Galaxy Entertainment Group and MGM Resorts International have also been looking into the possibility of developing casinos in Thailand, according to a Straits Times report that cited anonymous sources.
Late last year, Thailand’s secretary-general to the prime minister, Prommin Lertsuridej, told Bloomberg that the draft bill on the legalisation of casinos could be approved by as early as the next six months.
The opening up of casinos in Thailand is expected to pose tough competition for Macao and draw mainland Chinese gamblers away from the city where gaming revenue has not yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. This is in spite of the fact that mainland China has explicitly warned its citizens to shy away from engaging in gaming activities overseas.
