Thailand to legalize gambling (just what the Thais needed to get out of debt!)

From The Nation:

"Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej yesterday told his weekly radio and television audience he would move to legalize gambling.
Responding to a question from his audience, Samak said he would follow the legal model that is practiced in Malaysia, Macao, Singapore and Shanghai.
He urged newspapers not to use sensational headlines like "Samak supports gambling". "When gambling is legalized, there will be no longer the need for police to act on gambling dens," he added.
Samak did not provide details about what types of gambling he wanted to legalize. But viewers assume he may be including casinos and small dens that now operate in the countries he mentioned under state super-vision and revenue collection.
Answering another viewer's question about scholarships made available from funding by the now-defunct two and three digit lottery scheme, Samak said he will guarantee such grants would be provided once his plan was implemented.
Samak said while the court was proceeding with the lottery matter, a new law would allow a "lotto" type of gaming. Ticket would be sold "through machines" that will replace people who took bets by writing on chits, which was the old practice.
"The machines have been brought in and we need to wait for the ongoing negotiation to be completed. Then there will be what they call 'lotto', where two- and three digit numbers can be punted," he said. "This practice has been adopted world-wide, and will be used soon in Thailand. So I can answer to all students [in need of scholarships] that you just have to wait, but not for long," said Samak. Essentially, proceeds from the "lotto" sales will pay for education for needy children, he said.
Sangsit Phiriyarangsan, an academic and a former National Legislative Assembly member who has supported legalizing gambling in Thailand, said the "underground black money" should be brought to the surface and put to good use in a transparent and responsible manner.
Asked whether Samak's policy would be against Buddhist principles, Sangsit said religious matters need to be separated from state policies. "Otherwise no policy can be administered or implemented," he added.
People Power Party spokesman Kuthep Saikrajang said Samak's idea was similar to an initiative by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to build big "entertainment complexes" to serve foreign tourists.
He said Thaksin's plan was then heavily criticized. He said Samak's policy would need to undergo public hearing before it was implemented.
Kuthep said he expected public criticism about the plan was "inevitable".
Former NLA member Wallop Tangkhananurak said Samak's policy would only result in illegal casinos mushrooming amid legal casinos - a problem that could prove harder to control than the current underground operations. Citing Samak's reference to authorized casinos in Malaysia, Wallop said he doubted the premier understood how it was run. He said Malaysian authorities are mainly targeting foreign tourists. They built their casino in a remote area and issued regulations that curb many locals from gambling there.
But in Thailand, Wallop feared that youths could fall victim to legalized gambling. They were already hooked on "football gambling", he warned.
There have been many cases of revenge killings when punters failed to settle gambling debts, he noted.
Former Bangkok senator Sopon Supapong said the government should not initiate anything that turns young Thais into addicts of gambling.
Democrat Party spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said Samak's plan was vague and contained no details about what form of gambling would be allowed or how it would be regulated."