While huge casino complexes are booming in neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Laos, gambling is still banned in Thailand. This is about to change as the country prepares to legalize betting and transform into an entertainment hub.

No timetable has yet been released for the step, but alongside gambling, the country is also set to focus more on sporting events, conferences and the exhibition industry, making it even more of a tourist hotspot.

Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai are to be the epicentres of the nation’s new entertainment industry.

Right now, most forms of gambling are prohibited in Thailand, while across the borders in Laos and Myanmar, huge casino complexes are springing up everywhere, including the Golden Triangle where the three countries come together.

The industry is booming, thanks particular to wealthy guests from China.

Legalizing gambling could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues in the first year alone, says the government, planning to plough those additional funds into education and health.

The government has lately made a series of moves to attract more visitors by introducing increasingly liberal legislation It legalized cannabis two years ago and in June parliament paved the way to legalize same-sex marriage.