The Thai parliament passed a bill legalising gambling and casinos to boost tourism, jobs and investment, according to Reuters.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Monday that the law stipulated that gambling would take place in large entertainment complexes.
Legalisation will protect the public and would also generate more state revenue.
Casinos and most forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand, but football betting, underground gambling activities and lotteries are widespread, with huge sums of money bypassing state coffers.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar have benefited from large casino areas. The government argues that the lack of legal casinos deprives the country of revenue and ruins its tourism potential.
Thai governments have sought to legalise and regulate gambling to stimulate the economy. However, each attempt has been met with resistance from conservatives in the Buddhist-majority country.
Legalisation could lead to a 5-10% increase in the number of foreign tourists and boost tourism revenue by about 120 billion baht to 220 billion baht ($3.45-6.32 billion), Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat stated.
