Thailand should legalize casino gaming to boost government revenue and eliminate the need for Thai gamblers to travel abroad, according to the results of a new survey.

Sungsidh Piriyarangsan, dean of Rangsit University’s College of Social Innovation, held a press conference on Thursday to reveal the results of a survey of 2,500 Thai residents on the question of casino gambling. Sungsidh claims the survey found broad support for legalizing casinos, particularly among middle-income earners.

According to local media reports, Sungsidh further claimed that legal casinos would boost Thailand’s international tourism by 40–50%. Quite apart from the tourism boost, Sungsidh believes the government stands to collect an additional THB 100b (US $2.8b) per year simply by licensing and taxing casinos.

Sungsidh also presented the findings of two other studies on the casino question, one of which held up Singapore’s regulatory model as a good template, particularly for its requirement that local residents demonstrate the financial capacity to endure gambling losses.