Cambodia PM bans new casinos in southern provinces
The provinces include Kep and Kampot, while existing casinos at Bokor Mountain will be exempted.
Except for existing casinos and integrated resorts at Bokor Mountain, any establishment of new casinos in the Kep and Kampot provinces, in the South of Cambodia, will be banned. The ban does not include Dara Sakor’s casino by Century Entertainment.
The ban was announced by Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet.
According to Manet, the ban of casinos in said provinces was to “diversify investment in hotel and hospitality, tourism, manufacturing, industry, agriculture, trade and special economic zones [SEZs],” as well as aiming to “strengthen and promote cultural and religious preservation, ensure security and improve order in tourist destinations.”
Most of Cambodia’s casinos were located in coastal areas, while several others were scattered across provinces bordering its neighbours, including 48 in provinces bordering Thailand and 35 along Vietnam’s border; contrasting with only one in capital city Phnom Penh, the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC) showed.
Article 19 of the Law on Management of Commercial Gaming of 2020 “prohibits gambling establishments in certain geographical locations for the sake of cultural and religious conservation or other necessities,” with the exception of casinos already existing in said areas before the enactment of the regulation, as Article 20 stated.
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