Cambodia Ready for Global Casino Industry

• 12 June 2018
• Property Focus
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Aerial view of Naga World casino in Phnom Penh

Cambodia is fast becoming an attractive target for global casino industry brands, according to Andrew Klebanow, senior partner at Las Vegas-based business consultancy Global Market Advisors LLC.

“The potentials include an expanding domestic economy, growing tourism, rising investment from China, and the prospect of a casino law to provide the basis for a clear regulatory framework for the industry,” he told GGRAsia at the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2018. He went on to explain that Cambodia’s “China-Ready” policy also aims to attract two million Chinese tourists to the country annually by 2020.

“Cambodia currently has no such minimum mandatory capital requirement. The country is ripe for international-quality investment outside the monopoly zone of capital, Phnom Penh, where Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp Ltd has the exclusive right to casino operations,” said Mr Klebanow.

“In Poipet, you see 14 or so properties and they are pretty run down, pretty unappealing,” he stated, referring to the Cambodian frontier town serving gamblers coming across the border from Thailand, where casino gambling is illegal.

Referring to Australia-listed casino operator Donaco International Ltd, which runs the Star Vegas Resort and Club in Poipet, Klebanow added “Donaco might be the class in the market, but it’s nothing more than a three-star experience.”

Andrew Klebanow, senior consultant of Las Vegas-based Global Market Advisors LLC

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