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BANGKOK - ONLY a third of Thais support the new prime minister's plans to introduce casinos to the Buddhist kingdom, a survey published on Sunday showed.
Just over 56 per cent of people polled by Bangkok's Assumption University said they did not want to see casinos on Thai soil, expressing concerns that people may get hooked on gambling and quit their jobs.
Nearly 32 per cent said they supported the plans because they could bring more tourist dollars to the kingdom, while the rest of the 2,726 Thais surveyed in 18 provinces this week said they were neither for or against casinos.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Tuesday that he planned to build five casinos open to both foreign holidaymakers and Thai citizens in the tourist hotspots of Phuket, Pattaya, Khon Kaen, Hat Yai and Chiang Mai.
The move prompting a backlash from social conservatives, who said the gambling havens could spawn social ills such as addiction.
Gambling is illegal in Thailand, but Thais flock to neighbouring Cambodia and Myanmar where casinos dot the border.
Under-the-table wagers are also placed on sports in this football-mad country, with one economic research centre estimating that Thais bet nearly US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) on the 2006 World Cup.
About 55 per cent of the Thais polled by Assumption University said that they thought gambling was a normal part of life in Thailand. -- AFP
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