Firm Investigated for Illegal Gambling, Trafficking Given Casino License
23 September 2022
Sorn Sarath
Days after police raided a company’s Sihanoukville compound, arresting 27 foreigners and stating that illegal gambling, human trafficking and other crimes were perpetrated there, the nation’s gambling commission granted the same firm a casino license.

The Commercial Gambling Management Commission gave licenses to four game of chance companies and 25 casino firms, including Bing Cheng International Entertainment, according to a statement dated Thursday.

Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities on Sunday said Bing Cheng was under investigation for various crimes, including illegal gambling, human trafficking, confinement, torture, illegal weapons possession, prostitution and money laundering.

Nearly 500 foreign nationals, many without work documents, were found by authorities at the Bing Cheng compound in Bei commune. Authorities confiscated nearly 9,000 mobile phones, over 800 computers and 12 data drives, plus several pistols, pairs of handcuffs and electric-stun batons.

The gambling commission also granted a license to Longbay Entertainment, which owns Longbay casino, the statement said.

The Philippines Embassy in Phnom Penh and local news outlet VOD have identified the Long Bay casino complex, located in Koh Kong province’s Union Development Group concession, as a site of confinement of foreign nationals, with VOD reporting

Ros Phirun, secretary general of the gambling commission, on Friday confirmed that the commission had granted casino licenses to Bing Cheng in Sihanoukville and Longbay in Koh Kong province, based on their proper legal documents.

“We have checked that there are not any legal issues obstructing the license,” he said. “Overall, the company is just a victim, and it is only used by criminals. Therefore, what we have licensed is in accordance with the law on commercial gambling.”
In full: https://cambojanews.com/firm-investigat ... o-license/

Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos: risk and opportunity
By AGBrief Editorial -
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With many eyes focused on key hotspots such as Macau, Manila and Singapore, not enough attention is given to the growth within Indochina. A panel of experts point out the regulations and opportunities within growth markets such as Cambodia and Vietnam and what changes are happening within junket operations and border casinos as regional opportunities shift.
https://agbrief.com/news/cambodia/29/05 ... and-risks/