Thailand’s government is finally considering relaxing its longstanding ban on casino gambling as a means of limiting further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. 

Last week, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha authorized the formation of two committees: one to examine the role of human traffickers smuggling migrants into the country, the other to probe how local authorities are investigating cases of illegal gambling. 

Both committees are intended to find ways of limiting further spread of COVID-19, the rates of which have doubled in the past month. Meanwhile, pandemic fears and quarantine requirements have decimated Thailand’s international tourism industry, with predictable effects on the government’s tax revenue. 

Police in Nonthaburi, Thailand’s second-largest city, raided an illegal gambling den last week, while police in the resort town of Pattaya raided another illegal gambling hub in a condominium complex. The gambling committee has been asked to probe whether police turned a blind eye to these and other gambling dens that operate with seeming impunity across the county.