How good luck for Vietnam’s gamblers could force Cambodian casinos to fold
As Hanoi legalises gambling by locals at designated casinos, Phnom Penh prepares to take a financial hit from its tax receipts
You could be forgiven if the obscure town of Bavet, on the border of Cambodia and Vietnam, does not top your list of places to see. After all, Cambodia’s own tourism body describes it simply as a checkpoint between the neighbouring nations.
But Bavet is home to one of Cambodia’s casino and gambling hubs, and it’s a hit with the Vietnamese.
“They nickname that Cambodia border town ‘casino city’,” said Jonny Ferrari, a gaming industry consultant based in Cambodia. “Every day, it is only Vietnamese coming in – in and out, in and out, all the time.”
As many as 12 casinos operate in Bavet, but with a landmark decision by Hanoi to allow Vietnamese people to gamble legally, the transient town and the businesses based there may have run out of luck.
Late last month, Vietnam’s government announced that from mid-March and for a three-year trial period, citizens aged above 21 and earning at least 10 million dong (HK$3,400) per month would be allowed to gamble at two soon-to-be-completed casinos – one on the island of Phu Quoc and the other in the Van Don Special Economic Zone in the northern Quang Ninh province. A third location in Ho Tram is expected to be added to the list of approved casinos.
