The poll, conducted by the Assumption University, was conducted on 2,726 people in 18 provinces nationwide and found 56.4 percent of respondents opposed the idea, which was floated recently by prime minister Samak Sundaravej. Those in support accounted for 31.9 percent of respondents.

Earlier, Samak said the idea of legalizing casinos is to attract more foreign tourists and generate additional revenue to offset the budget deficit.

Samak also said if he could complete his four year term as prime minister, Thailand would have casinos.

The controversial issue was floated by several governments in the past, but was opposed by private organizations who said Thailand as a Buddhist country should not legalize casinos because they were against the Lord Buddha’s teachings.

Despite the opposition to legalized casinos in Thailand, 55.3 percent of the poll respondents said gambling was a normal thing and 35 percent admitted they had gambled before.

Meanwhile, the survey found the popularity of Samak, who took office early February following the Dec. 23, 2007 general election, was at a rather unimpressive 45.3 percent, while those against him was at 32.3 percent.

Source:Xinhua