It was reported that casinos in Cambodia that are located on its border with Vietnam are less visited by players from the latter country. The main reason for this is the stringent border crossing regulations Vietnamese authorities decided to implement not long ago.
The Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam stated that the tougher measures were taken as a response to the increasing number of reports about residents of the country being taken hostage, or even worse, after engaging in gambling activities in Cambodia.
Vu Hoang Kien, an official from the Ministry, pointed out that such cases are not something new, but usually the victims’ families are too scared to report what exactly happened to their kins.
There are a total of 36 cockfighting pits and 54 casinos on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border. Reportedly, as many as 1.6 million citizens of Vietnam traveled to their neighboring country in 2014. Of those, approximately 234,000 crossed the 24 border gates in order to engage in gambling activities.
The actions that the government of Vietnam took led to a considerable decrease in the number of people who daily crossed the border. Previously, more than 500 Vietnamese citizens passed the crossing at Tay Ninh. Reportedly, their number dropped to 100-150 per day. Most of the people who entered Cambodia stated that they were doing it for tourism purposes.
The new regulations resulted in increase in the number of the so-called “brokers” or people who help players from Vietnam enter their neighboring country via backwoods tracks or via paying border officials to turn a blind eye to what is happening.
Mr. Kien pointed out that he believes the border cannot be effectively controlled, unless the two countries work together.
Back in 2012, Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, stated that the construction of casinos on the border should be seen as the country’s attempt to prevent Vietnamese invasion. He said that border markers might be easy to remove, but five-story hotels are not such an undemanding target.
The government of Vietnam has been considering the possibility to lift the ban that prevents citizens of the country from playing in local casinos for quite some time. Owners of facilities on the Grand Ho Tram Strip stated that they will readily accept Vietnamese residents.
As for Cambodia, it seems that its government, too, is discussing the opportunity to allow its citizens access to its gambling venues.
