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The new laws covering entertainment zones and venue operating hours are now in force and Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenont yesterday vowed to start strictly enforcing closing times of night entertainment venues.

According to reports in the local English and Thai press, the zoning laws took effect on Thursday. Entertainment zones have been designated in Bangkok and 49 other provinces - including Pattaya (Chon Buri) and Phuket, but not Chiang Mai and 26 other provences. Venues within zones are allowed to open longer hours, and no new entertainment venues will be allowed to open outside the zones.

Five types of venues and their opening hours are defined:

• Nightclubs and bars - inside a zone open from 9 PM to 2 AM, outside a zone open from 9 PM to midnight.
• Lounges and teahouses - both inside and outside a zone open from 11 AM to 2 PM and from 6 PM to midnight.
• Modern massage parlours - inside a zone open from 12 noon to midnight, outside a zone open from 6 PM to midnight.
• Pubs, discotheques, cafes, restaurants with live bands and cabarets - inside a zone open from 6 PM to 1 AM, outside a zone open from 6 PM to midnight.
• Restaurants with live music - both inside and outside a zone open from 6 PM to 1 AM.

Exactly what this will mean for various venues remains to be seen, there have been many different and somewhat vague definitions of the zone boundries and it is still not clear exactly what licenses are required to operate as one of the defined venue types, etc, but hopefully the situation will be clarified quickly in a way that venue owners and customers can understand and work with!