Aiming to deter corruption, Cambodians are still not allowed to enter casinos
King Norodom Sihamoni has promulgated the long-awaited gambling law for Cambodia, with the aim of creating jobs, boosting the economy and bolstering tourism as well as establishing safeguards against money laundering and corruption, in the Asia South Pacific country.
Cambodia’s new Gaming Law, to dictate how casinos and gambling operators conduct business, has 12 chapters and 97 articles, and was passed by the National Assembly on October 5 and endorsed by the Senate on October 26. The law was written to manage commercial gaming centres, like casinos, and all commercial gaming activities in the Kingdom. It has set in Article 1 the premise to help protect social safety and security as well as boost the economy and generate tax revenue.
Called the Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling (LMCG), Cambodia’s new gaming law sets forth the authority and procedures for managing commercial gaming and the rights and duties of individuals and entities that own and operate gaming businesses.
Article 4 states that a Cambodia Commercial Games Committee (CCGC), which consists of 11 members from different ministries and chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance, will govern the gaming sector, issuing policies and regulations as well as conducting inspections, providing licences and collecting income. CCGC is also charged with taking action against those commercial game operators who break the law.
The law sets out the responsibilities that gaming operators must honour in the fight against money laundering, bribery, corruption and the financing of terrorism, and for this Gaming operators must keep strict accounting records and submit them to the committee for scrutiny.
The law maintains that Cambodians are still not legally allowed to enter casinos, as stated in Article 68 of the law: “All Cambodian people, including members of the armed forces, public servants and elected officials, are banned from entering casinos or commercial game facilities to gamble.”
The CCGC has the authority to inspect material and record voices from closed-circuit television cameras installed at casinos and other commercial gaming centres. Article 80 bans all automated teller machines, or ATMS, from casinos and commercial gaming centres.
