What Future For Sihanoukville’s Casinos?
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:31 pm
What Future For Sihanoukville’s Casinos?
After Internet gambling is banned, will Sihanoukville’s title as Asia’s “new gambling city” fade?
According to the Ministry of Finance and Economics report, as of March 2019, Cambodia has issued a total of 169 casino licenses, of which 91 are located in Sihanoukville. The number of new casino licenses in 2018 doubled from 2017.
With the government’s ban on online gambling, Sihnanoukville will not only lose its “spinach army”, but many casinos will also face closure due to losing their main source of income.
“How is Sihanoukville so small, how can it support so many casinos?” A casino manager told reporters, “Almost all casinos in Sihanoukville rely on online gaming to maintain their operations!”
He said that a medium-sized casino has a monthly operating cost of more than $ 100,000, including rent, employee salaries and utilities.
“Workers have to eat four meals a day and live in air-conditioned dormitories. These costs add up, and the overheads can be a lot!”
He said that most casino hotels rent rooms for long-term to online betting operators, and rental income has become the most important source of income for casinos, and to subsidize casino operating losses.
He said that compared to Poipet and Bavet, Sihanoukville gambling has higher stakes; with the border towns relying on Thai and Vietnamese gamblers respectively, the bets are relatively small, and local casinos rely more on rental income.
Regarding the Cambodian government’s $ 200 million investment in rebuilding Sihanoukville roads and other infrastructure and rehabilitating the beautiful beach resorts, the executive admitted that the prospects for city’s casinos are not optimistic.
“Building a road and covering a ditch can’t be completed in one or two months … Now many casinos are losing money. How many casinos will be supported in one or two years?”
However, a casino hotel manager emphasized that the online gambling ban would not affect its hotel business.
He said the ban did affect the hotel’s “occupancy rate”, but it does not mean that the hotel will not be able to survive and that the hotel can still attract other tourists.
After Internet gambling is banned, will Sihanoukville’s title as Asia’s “new gambling city” fade?
According to the Ministry of Finance and Economics report, as of March 2019, Cambodia has issued a total of 169 casino licenses, of which 91 are located in Sihanoukville. The number of new casino licenses in 2018 doubled from 2017.
With the government’s ban on online gambling, Sihnanoukville will not only lose its “spinach army”, but many casinos will also face closure due to losing their main source of income.
“How is Sihanoukville so small, how can it support so many casinos?” A casino manager told reporters, “Almost all casinos in Sihanoukville rely on online gaming to maintain their operations!”
He said that a medium-sized casino has a monthly operating cost of more than $ 100,000, including rent, employee salaries and utilities.
“Workers have to eat four meals a day and live in air-conditioned dormitories. These costs add up, and the overheads can be a lot!”
He said that most casino hotels rent rooms for long-term to online betting operators, and rental income has become the most important source of income for casinos, and to subsidize casino operating losses.
He said that compared to Poipet and Bavet, Sihanoukville gambling has higher stakes; with the border towns relying on Thai and Vietnamese gamblers respectively, the bets are relatively small, and local casinos rely more on rental income.
Regarding the Cambodian government’s $ 200 million investment in rebuilding Sihanoukville roads and other infrastructure and rehabilitating the beautiful beach resorts, the executive admitted that the prospects for city’s casinos are not optimistic.
“Building a road and covering a ditch can’t be completed in one or two months … Now many casinos are losing money. How many casinos will be supported in one or two years?”
However, a casino hotel manager emphasized that the online gambling ban would not affect its hotel business.
He said the ban did affect the hotel’s “occupancy rate”, but it does not mean that the hotel will not be able to survive and that the hotel can still attract other tourists.