• Burmese
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
22 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Myanmar Citizens Out of Luck Under Proposed Gambling Law

Htet Naing Zaw by Htet Naing Zaw
August 24, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Gamblers try their luck at a casino in Myawaddy, Karen State, in February. / The Irrawaddy

Gamblers try their luck at a casino in Myawaddy, Karen State, in February. / The Irrawaddy

6.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

NAYPYITAW — Myanmar citizens would not be allowed to gamble in the country’s casinos under the proposed 2018 Gambling Law, according to U Kyaw Soe Lin, secretary of the Lower House of Parliament’s Bill Committee.

“Casinos are intended for foreigners only,” the secretary told The Irrawaddy, and would be used mainly to spur tourism and the national economy.

The new legislation would replace the existing 1986 Gambling Law, which was drafted by the Socialist Program Party of Burma.

RelatedPosts

JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

May 13, 2025
1.7k
Junta No. 2 Admits Draft Extortion Rampant; Dictator Pitches Shoes to Stomp Sanctions; and More

Junta No. 2 Admits Draft Extortion Rampant; Dictator Pitches Shoes to Stomp Sanctions; and More

March 22, 2025
3.7k
UN Urged to Investigate Myanmar Special Envoy for Conflicts of Interest

UN Urged to Investigate Myanmar Special Envoy for Conflicts of Interest

March 10, 2025
5.6k

The 1986 law does not meet the needs of the current administration and the penalties it prescribes are out of date, U Lin Lin Kyaw, a member of the Lower House’s Public Affairs Committee, told Parliament on Thursday.

He said casinos could become a useful tax generator for the government and would be good for Myanmar so long as they could be managed without harming citizens.

The bill did not specify who could or could not gamble at a casino when the government introduced it in Parliament. The Lower House Bill Committee later added a clause stipulating that Myanmar citizens would be banned, U Aung Hlaing Win, a lawmaker representing Yangon’s Mingaladon Township, told The Irrawaddy.

But with the country in the midst of a democratic transition, he said, the government should be encouraging citizens to make their own informed decisions.

“Under the new law, a Myanmar businessman will find it difficult to go inside a casino with his foreign business partners. I don’t want citizens to be restricted unnecessarily. The Union government should be granted authority. If necessary, the union government can restrict gambling by citizens,” he said.

In February, U Aung Hlaing Win submitted a proposal in Parliament urging the government to legalize casinos in Myanmar.

“It is because of casinos that Macau and Hong Kong do not have any foreign debt. While we have a huge deficit, they have large surpluses. The gambling industry has been the main source of income for them,” he said.

The Bill Committee said the Home Affairs Ministry was also drafting other laws related to casinos and lotteries but had yet to submit them to Parliament.

Before submitting the new gambling bill to Parliament, the Public Affairs Committee held several meetings with the Bill Committee, Home Affairs Ministry, General Administration Department, Myanmar Police Force, Planning and Finance Ministry, Internal Revenue Department, Myanmar Investment Commission and Attorney General’s Office.

Although the existing Gambling Law bans casinos, a few, approved by the previous government, still operate on the island resorts of Myeik in Tanintharyi Region catering to tourists. Another casino near the Thai border in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, is reportedly owned by a colonel in a local border guard force.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Business
Htet Naing Zaw

Htet Naing Zaw

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co
Burma

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co

by David Aung
February 8, 2024
17.8k

Min Aung Hlaing is an opportunistic businessman in military uniform and his children are more mercenary than the offspring of...

Read moreDetails
KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State
War Against the Junta

KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State

by The Irrawaddy
June 14, 2024
17.1k

The military regime has also lost control of all border trade in neighboring northern Shan State.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray
Analysis

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray

by Hein Htoo Zan
June 4, 2024
14.8k

Arrests, corruption, false receipts—the crisis in the gold and currency markets bears all the hallmarks of the junta’s inability to...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  
Business

Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  

by The Irrawaddy
June 5, 2024
14.3k

Crackdown on border scams and tax fraud is taking heavy toll on gems trade, say merchants.

Read moreDetails
Scam Operations Flourish in Myanmar’s Biggest City
Investigation

Scam Operations Flourish in Myanmar’s Biggest City

by The Irrawaddy
March 7, 2024
10.1k

Under the noses of junta officials, online scam syndicates freely operate in Yangon as government-registered companies, an investigation by The...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Women in Ta’ang villages in Mongyawng and Lashio, northern Shan State, still wear traditional clothing. / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy

Netizen Offends, Calls Riang ‘Cannibals’ and ‘Ghosts’

Zeya Phyo appears at his trial at Yangon North District Court on July 10. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Suspect in U Ko Ni Murder Trial Says Officials Framed Him

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Junta Leader Scores Diplomatic Win With Xi Meeting in Moscow

Myanmar Junta Leader Scores Diplomatic Win With Xi Meeting in Moscow

5 days ago
1.2k
How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

7 days ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Political Parties Fear Mass Boycott of Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Shan Party Says It’s Ready to Take Part in Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Abandons Chinese Pipeline Amid Resistance Attacks

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.