Ultra bilyonaryo Ricky Razon is expected to join the ranks of global gaming leaders who have shown interest in establishing a resort casino in Thailand.
A Babbler said Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts, fresh from the opening of its second Solaire casino hotel in Quezon City, is closely monitoring Thailand’s ongoing efforts to legalize casinos and boost revenue for the Southeast Asian nation.
Thailand is planning to bid out an initial five to eight licenses for entertainment complexes in popular tourist areas such as Phuket, Chiang May and Pattaya once it finalizes the necessary legislation.
Asia Gaming Brief reports that Thailand’s potential casino opening has sparked interest from some of the world’s largest gambling firms, including Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts, Genting, and Galaxy.
This interest is driven by Thailand’s favorable 17 percent tax rate, which is significantly lower than the 25 to 45 percent rates seen in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Macau.
If plans push through, the first Thai casino will open in 2029 ahead of Japan.
Bloomberry operates the Jeju Sun casino in South Korea, which opened in 2015 and is currently running with limited gaming capacity.
Bloomberry has already kicked off the development of a new integrated resort and entertainment complex on its Paniman property in Cavite.
This ambitious project will feature a world-class casino, hotel, golf course, as well as commercial, residential, and mixed-use developments.