Opening of new casino prompted ban
Residents of Thailand, who are barred from gambling in all domestic casinos at home, are now also prohibited from crossing the border to gamble in Cambodia.
The new restrictions were put in place after the April 7 opening of the Saitaku Resort and Casino, located near Poipet, reported CalvinAyre.com.
“In a tit-for-tat, Cambodia has prohibited its own people from crossing the border into Thailand, with the stalemate now not only affecting the casinos but also trade in general between the two Southeast Asian nations,” reported the website.
The mayor of Tambon Chantoppetch, Santi Uthumporn, told the Bangkok Post that trade has fallen from millions of baht per week to virtually nothing, and called the situation an emergency.
Meanwhile, Cambodia—which also does not permit its citizens to gamble at home—is hoping to attract gamblers from Vietnam, who are currently also may not play at home. To that end, Cambodia is currently building a $200 million casino resort, Empire World City on its northern border near Vietnam.
At the same time, Vietnam is launching a pilot program that will allow Vietnamese to enter and gamble at several domestic casinos. The Sun Group is the only operator approved to develop a casino in Vietnam’s Van Don Economic Zone in Quang Ninh Province, according to local officials.
According to the Vietnam Investment Review, Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of the Quang Ninh People’s Committee, confirmed that the Sun Group “is the province’s strategic developer, and was chosen by the province to report to the prime minister as the only developer of the luxury resort-entertainment complex with a casino, according to the master plan approved by the prime minister, and allowed to pilot allowing Vietnamese citizens to play in the casino.”
The casino will be one of only two gaming venues to allow Vietnamese nationals to gamble under the government’s three-year pilot program. Vietnamese customers must be at least 21 years old and have a monthly regular income of minimum VND10 million (US$454.50).
