Casino Capitalism at Thailand’s Borders: Theoretical Propositions in Political Economy and Policy Options

Abstract

The article analyzes casinos business at Thailand’s borders as a form of casino capitalism. Cultural political economy theory is integrated with David Harvey’s concept of Accumulation by Dispossession to describe the cultural context. Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice is then used to consider the roles played by actors in casinos. Ulrich Beck’s concept of Risk Society is then employed to illustrate the context of the locality under study. In addition, policy recommendations are offered. There are derived from the results of documentary research and in-depth interviews carried out in the field. The findings are that the mechanism and the process of capital accumulation in the research area can be categorized as Primitive Accumulation of Capital in a Neo-Liberal Globalization context. Most of the capital accumulation is by non-economic means. Furthermore, Appropriation of surplus in casino business is made possible by 2 factors: 1) the operators’ acumen in conducting the business and 2) differential probabilities of gambling risk as between the operators or hosts and their customers. The implication is therefore that the policy proposal to legalize casinos in Thailand should be re-considered since policy itself would tend to compound social problems. Should such a policy become reality, measures should be in places to make for responsible gambling and to educated the public to be critically conscious of the nature of the risks involved in gambling, especially in casinos.