As the neighboring Cambodian countries accept gambling legislation one by one, the Cambodian government has shown signs for designing such a bill itself. The first step toward more modern gambling legislation is the Government’s change in mind toward allowing local citizens to enter casinos and gamble.
This is good news, considering the Government’s position two months ago, when despite the positive change in the law for international investors, the Cambodia PM Hun Sen reminded the public on his personal Facebook page that they are still not allowed to visit casinos.
Last Thursday, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced the consideration of the Government to loosen up the current ban on locals entering casinos. Experts say this is an action taken in order to remain close to Vietnam, which had also announced to investigate its own regulations and the possibility of lightening its locals’ ban.
It seems that the ‘domino theory’ that was said to overtake Asia, spreading communism across countries, has been swiped with a spread of gambling regulations.
Cambodia says that this action will make the country a more pleasant destination for international casino operators to establish their casinos there. On the other hand, as Vietnam is looking into similar legislation, if it happens, there is a high chance that Vietnamese players will now play in their own country unlike they do now – crossing over to Cambodia. There are currently a number of medium-sized casinos built close to the Vietnam-Cambodian border which mostly earn their revenue from Vietnamese clientele.
For example, the Titan King Casino in the city of Bavet is estimated to welcome up to one thousand Vietnamese tourists every day. Mr. Kimsay, a gambling expert, explained that this might cause a major decrease in the revenue of casinos, if the Vietnamese Government accepts such a bill sooner than the Cambodians.
He said that if Vietnamese players can go to Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi and play in their own country, they would do that, as Cambodia has received a reputation of having criminal groups which take Vietnamese gamblers for hostages.
The gambling industry has no borders and it is up to Governments to decide whether they want their country to compete with the rest on a same footing. Mr. Phiriun, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, adds that ‘we must get the gambling law done – especially with regional integration, we have to be ready.’ He gave a personal estimation of when the new gambling law might be finished, stating the end of this year. Yet, most experts provide the more probable prediction of 2015.
The Queenco Casino and Hotel raised their concerns that the bill might be too late. The casino had reported a $1.2-million loss for the first half of this year. Despite that decline, the Queenco Leisure International is currently looking for another investor to continue building another casino resort. The company reported a $5-million loss for the first half of 2014, which might force it to either halt the construction, or sell the land for some quick revenue boost until its financial situation gets better.
