BANGKOK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Thailand's new government will move ahead with plans to introduce casinos after a public hearing showed strong support to create a big entertainment complex offering gambling, a senior official said on Thursday. The conclusion of a public hearing conducted online over a bill to establish a "mega entertainment complex" housing a casino showed 80% of participants agreed with the plan, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said.

In case you have any kind of questions relating to where as well as the best way to work with Happyluke, you can e-mail us at the site. In Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines have legalised casinos, some of which are located on the other side of Thailand's borders, catering overwhelmingly to Thai and Chinese customers, many on weekend junkets. Several Thai governments have pushed to legalise gambling before to try to boost jobs and state revenues and draw more foreign tourists, but each attempt met pushback from conservatives in the Buddhist majority country. Her ally and predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was the main proponent of the latest casino push but was removed from office by a court decision last month.

One of its first advocates was influential billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in as prime minister last month. (Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty) Her father Thaksin is widely seen as a major force behind her government and in a dinner speech last month backed the casino plan, noting the potential benefits from regulating and taxing online gambling and formalising the larger underground economy.

Paetongtarn's ruling Pheu Thai Party has argued Thailand has fallen behind its neighbours in the gaming industry.