Casinos in Cambodia

Introduction

This article will provide a thorough and detailed insight, regarding the expansion, legality, regulations, and other information on the subject of the gambling history in the country of Cambodia.

We will also inform you of this country’s most popular gambling locales scattered throughout its diverse and interesting terrain.

But before all that, let’s talk a little about the country itself.

Cambodia, also known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in Mainland Southeast Asia (AKA Indochinese Peninsula).

With an area of 181,035 square kilometers, the country borders Vietnam on the East, Thailand on the northwest, and Laos on the North, and has a coastline on the southwest that exists to the Gulf of Thailand.

The country is very diverse, both geologically and culturally, and although the Khmer make up the majority of the country's ethnicity, there are other prominent ethnicities like Vietnamese, Chinese, and indigenous groups like Cham, Jarai, Mnong, and Kuy.

About the geographical diversity, the landscape consists of plains, highlands to the East, and a wild mountain region covered in forest on the South, not too far from the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh with a population of almost 2,500,000 people.

Tourism is rather prominent in this country with millions of people visiting Cambodia every year, and some of the more prominent tourist attractions are the ancient buildings of the old Khmer Kingdom, such as the Hindu-Buddhist temple complex of Angkor Wat.

That’s that for the brief overview of the country, as we return to the subject on hand which is gambling at this exotic and exciting location.

In the late 1990's the Cambodian casino industry began to massively expand, as gambling has a long history in Southeast Asia and is very popular in many countries of the region, including the bordering Vietnam and Thailand.

Since only foreigners are allowed to gamble in all of these countries, as it is illegal for the locals even with the possibility of a prison sentence in some, the Cambodian government has seen that as an opportunity to thrive in the world of gambling.

Welcoming players from neighboring countries, as well as tourists from afar, Cambodia has quickly positioned itself as one of the more prominent gambling centers in the area, with about 20 land-based casinos available all across the country’s diverse landscape.

As such, the country delivers many more gambling locales than the neighboring countries, with Vietnam having only eight, Laos just three, and Thailand having no legal casinos at all, as only horse racing and lottery are allowed as gambling activities.

Even if allowed, it is unlikely that the majority of the general population in the country would easily engage in these activities, as there is a general dislike for it in the public, which most likely stems from Khmer culture’s views on gambling.

So, as a way to keep the native population far from gambling sites and make it more easily accessible to the neighboring incomers, the government set up most of the casinos in resort areas and border towns like Poipet, Ou Smach, and Bavet.

Some of the most popular gambling locations in the country are casinos such as Nagaworld Casino, Crown Casino, Poipet Resort Casino, Fortuna Casino, Holiday Palace Casino Resort, and Jin Bei Casino.

History of Gambling

We have mentioned that there is a long history of gambling in Southeast Asian countries, and it all goes back to Ancient China, which was estimated to have brought gambling to this area over 3000 years ago.

Some of the oldest gambling games believed to have been played around 1000 B.C. are considered to primarily be variations of tile games, including the Pai Gow, which has evolved into a popular game of Pai Gow Poker, played throughout the world these days.

In Cambodia, gambling began to spread and gain popularity around 1993, as the country left the socialist rule and embraced the capitalist economy.

However, it has officially become illegal as soon as 1996 for the country’s citizens, making it possible only for foreigners to gamble. Nevertheless, unlike some of the surrounding countries, imprisonment is not one of the penalties for breaking this law.

The years 2011 to 2015 have seen quick growth in Cambodia's gambling industry, bringing a government revenue of 29 million dollars. 

In 2018, in order to prevent scamming operations aimed primarily towards punters from China, particularly as a response to the notorious online casino industry in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, the Cambodian and Chinese governments joined forces.

As a result, two governments formed an Anti-Technology Crime Division. This proved to be fruitful and in 2020, Cambodia has banned online gambling altogether, continuing to keep only land-based casinos within the country’s borders.

Legislation and Jurisdiction

As an answer to these turbulent years in the country's gambling industry, which has seen both an immense rise, as well as a fair share of misconduct, Cambodia finally implemented proper casino legislation in November of 2020.

The Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling has been applied, resulting in the birth of a body of law whose duty is to regulate gambling within the country’s borders.

Consisting of ministry and state officials it was formed as Commercial Gambling Committee of Cambodia (CGCC), later renamed into Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia, abbreviated as CGMC.

As such, from that point onwards all of the required licenses have to be issued by this committee.

The licenses are divided into two main categories. The first type of license is for a casino that is located inside the integrated resort and the second one is a license for a standalone casino that operates outside the integrated resort.

Popular Sports & Games

With a fine selection of luxurious casinos to be found in the country, Cambodian gambling locales aim to provide the best and the most entertaining gambling experience to tourists and gamblers who come from other countries in the area.

As such, you will find pretty much all kinds of popular casino games in most of those casinos, which are often also hotels and other kinds of resorts, including slot machines and poker machines.

As for the games that are played with a dealer, some of the most popular card games in Cambodia include baccarat, blackjack, and Texas hold’em poker.

Other table games of luck such as roulette and craps are also very present in these casinos, always drawing a crowd of hopeful punters. Reaching back to ancient history, some casinos also provide the original Chinese Pai Gow.

Sportsbooks are also to be found in the country, so visitors can engage in various kinds of sports betting and horse racing is particularly popular in the region.

Banking

Cambodian banking regulation allows both the country’s citizens and non-citizens to open accounts in foreign currencies in local banks besides Cambodian Riel and most land-based casinos will accept the foreign currency or exchange it within the casino.

When it comes to the methods of paying that are supported, credit and debit cards are commonly used and transactions via e-wallets such as PayPal and bank wire transfers are also generally accepted.

To Conclude

After we've gone through the history of the Cambodian gambling industry, its surprising and expeditious rise to become one of Southeast Asia's biggest and most revered gambling centers is perhaps not so surprising after all.

A combination of the rise of gambling as the country turned more towards a capitalist economy in the early nineties and the apparent downside of gambling being deemed illegal have provided a fertile ground upon which luxurious casinos started to grow.

As of the start of 2020, the proper regulative committee has made a safer gambling environment and as there are always fraudulent casinos to be found, make sure that those you decide to visit have one of the two types of licenses issued by CGMC.