Industry experts agree that a legalized Thailand casino industry now looks likely to become a reality, but have cast doubts on its ability to implement a regulatory framework strong enough to attract the world’s largest operators.

Despite the likes of Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts having expressed interest in the Thai market, Spectrum Gaming Group’s Senior VP Asia, Paul Bromberg, said Wednesday that recent attempts to legislate for medical marijuana – which instead wound up legalizing marijuana use nationwide – showed that government lacked the will to do the hard yards when it came to developing an internationally respectable regulatory system.