Cambodia Issues New Guidelines for Casino and Gambling Operators

Cambodia continues to navigate the difficulties of managing a casino industry that has got quite a bad reputation of late. That is why the General Secretariat of the Commercial Gambling Management Commission (CGMC) has issued new guidelines which will alter some of the base principles of operation for commercial casinos.

Cambodia Introduces New Rules on Commercial Casinos

These changes will pertain most strictly to the operator’s licensing and current mode of taxation. The new guidelines also seek to ensure that the government has a reliable roadmap as to which operators are actually licensed, and can then focus on cracking down on the rest:

The casino operators or owners have to display the original licenses or the certificate of legality in a visible place in their business locations.

CGMC

According to local media reports, the guidelines originally appeared on October 20, and they are a part of the continued effort to crack down on all illegal gambling that is taking pace within the country and that has sullied the kingdom’s reputation internationally.

The government remains as committed as ever to ensure that it fights against any entity that promotes illegal gambling activities on Cambodia’s territory and follows up on an order by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for officials to start cleaning up such operations or face the consequences of their failures.

Cambodia has been experiencing an unprecedented level of crime linked to illegal gambling, out of which most shocking have been the kidnappings which made international newspaper headlines and brought oversee organizations to monitor a situation they have described as worrying. Governments around the globe have told their citizens to stay away from visiting Cambodia and avoid doing business there.

New Permitted, Favored and Prohibited Zones

Understandably, all of this has had a negative impact on the country’s economy which is still trying to recover following the pandemic. As to the new guidelines, they will require all casino owners and operators to apply for new licenses under the CGMC’s latest guidelines, all of which should be done by the end of the year for any entity that wishes to continue without interruption.

The new guidelines will also create new zones where companies can operate. There will be Permitted Zones, where operators may operate through a license issued by the government and Prohibited Zones where no gambling can be taking place at all. There will also be Favored Zones, referring to the coastal provinces of Sihanouk and Koh Kong, which will focus on hosting new integrated resorts. Cambodia still has a long way to go to fully tackle illegal gambling, however.