Asian heritage is popularly associated with gambling and Cambodia is no exception. In our article, we will discuss the present regulations and laws for Cambodian people as well as how convenient it is for gamblers to bet on the internet. So, in a nutshell, we bring to you top sites for online betting in Cambodia.
Cambodia is one of the countries in Southeast Asia and it is now emerging as a notable gambling country with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam as its neighbors. In terms of economic growth over the past decade, the nation’s economy has witnessed remarkable change brought about by increased rates of tourism. An increasing number of tourists visiting Cambodia has led to improvement and expansion of casinos for foreigners to handle this growing demand.
Gambling is a fervent practice among Cambodians, and almost all games of competition attract bets with cockfights, boat races and kickboxing bouts being some of the commonest subjects.
CamboxSix was granted a nine year licence in 2002 to become the only bookmaker in Cambodia and were allowed to take bets on matches played across the world. Nonetheless, their license was cancelled by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2009 with two years remaining on the contract after observing increased crime rates and other social problems arising from gambling, hence having all twenty shops closed immediately.[2]
In Cambodia, some foreigners can access government regulated casinos though it is illegal for the citizens from that country. Usually bordering Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai clients are lured to these gambling hotels.
Poipet is a small town located on the border of Thailand and Cambodia, which offers a shelter for Thai gamblers who are prohibited to enter casinos in their country. Four hours from Bangkok, free buses run daily to ferry groups to Poipet with around three thousand individuals taking advantage of this service every day.
At Nagaworld, the biggest gambling facility is (owned by NagaCorp, a Hong Kong company). The casino has a seventy-year license valid until 2065 and more importantly it has forty-one years monopoly casino activities within a radius of two hundred kilometers from Phnom Penh (expires in 2035 too).
In 2014, the Cambodian government showed a clear signal that it was going to regulate their casinos more effectively and drafted some amendments in the law to make it easier for them to attract some big gambling companies from Macau and America. For example, they could have allowed online gambling even though nothing is certain yet. [3][4]
The absence of regulated online betting companies in Cambodia has been a result of strict ban on gambling. Nevertheless, several Asian betting companies including SBObet have agents all over the country. There are local agencies that hold series of bets weekly and can earn around $40,000 with 30% going to the agents as their net profit. Some arrests are made occasionally but they cannot match the large amounts that some agents make. [4]
In Cambodia, there is a list of top Asian bookies.
• 12Bet• 18bet• 188bet• Bodog88• Dafabet• IBCbet• SBObet
SBObet, IBCbet and 188bet have been well known for a long time as leading bookmakers that specialize in Asian Handicap football betting. In addition to what was just said, in addition to its online activities, they also have “middlemen” who receive bets from customers, thereby increasing the anonymity of their services.
Khmer is the official language of Cambodia, and hence for a small population without much wealth by global standards, bookmakers do not have any reason to bother about offering language translation facilities on their websites. The lone exemption, however, is 188bet in that it allows Cambodian nationals to view its site in Khmer.
Despite Cambodians having Khmer as their first language, most of them can also speak Chinese, English, Vietnamese and French; hence it is not difficult to find directions to the correct places. Therefore, even if the currency for Cambodia is the Riel (KHR) which has little value outside of Cambodia and is not offered to customers when depositing money, almost any type of dollar or several other monies include these varieties among others are acceptable.
Cambodia can sign up with so many bookies based in Europe to place bets. Some of them include:
• Betfair• Betfred• Expekt• Bwin• Intewetten• Matchbook• Ladbrokes• Paddy Power • Racebets
Notably, the UK based companies William Hill and Coral don’t offer their services to Cambodian customers. The Caribbean-based Pinnacle Sports welcomes applications from most countries including Cambodia. This high turnover, high limit and low margin model is appealing to many, particularly Asian gamblers who often prefer Asian Handicap and Over/Under goals markets.
In theory, there are a wide array of deposit methods when Cambodians want to fund their accounts as they are compelled to use any of the major currencies such as US Dollars, Pounds Sterling and Euros.
Visa credit or debit cards as well as Maestro and Mastercard can be used for payment. Additionally, there are a few electronic wallets like Moneybookers/Skrill, Paypal and Neteller that people increasingly use to fund their accounts because they offer security and anonymity. Moreover, major firms also support prepaid virtual visa cards such as Entropay.
In Cambodia and several other Asian nations, the most common way of depositing is through bank transfer which is usually done in hard cash form so as to retain anonymity. The aforementioned agents are based in almost all major cities and place winning money back into clients’ accounts through cash payments, thus avoiding any paper trail.
In Cambodia, football is undoubtedly the most popular sport and by far the one with the maximum number of fans. Apart from this, there is more income generated through gambling on it than any other sports in this country.
It would be more appropriate to say that the national soccer team has not gained a worldwide reputation since it is currently 201st in FIFA’s rankings. Metphone C-League, domestically, is the highest professional championship within Cambodia. This competition consists of twelve teams who from 2014 will play their opponents twice, once at home and once away. Though the quality still falls below those of Asia and other parts globally, there is improvement due to increasing investment.
The betting companies cover the other major and minor leagues in Europe and other parts of the world, as well as being a source of interest for gamblers who are waiting for odds.
Although there is presently no racecourse for horses in Cambodia, a horse racing complex worth $516 million has been planned since 2008. In the same way, greyhound racing was planned to be developed in the country with Indo China Racing being given a 30 year lease to develop a racing facility. But it’s just like the horse racing; more words and less action has been seen so far.
Cambodia is a country where sepak takraw is highly loved and it is also loved in many other countries throughout Asia. It has been in existence as a game since the 1500s and resembles volleyball with two teams each comprising of three players, separated by a net, who score points by keeping the ball from touching the ground.
On the other hand, sepak takraw requires use of feet, knees, chest and head to contact with the ball. Cambodia has both male and female national teams who compete internationally on a regular basis. The game is played in the streets and gambling for games is common.[6]
Kun Khmer is one of the national sports in Cambodia. Many cities have competitions and fights on weekends that are similar to Muay Thai boxing. Basketball has become more popular, leading to formation of CBL in 2013. Dragon boat racing is one of the big sports in Asia including Cambodia hence making wagers on human powered boat racing events a major betting subject.
Despite the fact that gambling is prohibited in Cambodia, there is a clear and strong betting culture in the country and although these laws are sometimes enforced resulting to punishment imposition, most of them pass undetected or unnoticed. Besides, with planned reforms aimed at attracting more foreign investments into the country, it might be even easier for Cambodian nationals to make bets.
Cambodian sign ups are acceptable to most online sports books as things currently stand, and the government does not have any powers to stop gambling. In addition, there are many agents of major internet betting firms who take bets on site in cash and quietly put money into players’ bank accounts.
The practice has been targeted and some arrested but the commissions are so high that there will always be people willing to take up such positions. Gambling is a big thing in this country and it seems likely that its popularity will continue to rise even if the government tries to fight it.
[1] Kram Legislation – Bigpond
[2] The Phnom Penh Post – Cambo Six shuts its books.
[3] Asia Gambling Brief – Cambodia considering regulation of online gambling.
PGRI (4) Gambling laws in Cambodia are being amended by the authorities.
Calvin Ayre reports that the authorities in Indonesia have arrested agents of SBOBet and IBCBet who were reportedly earning $665,000 every month.
[4] Coaching must be done away with for the Sepak Takraw Team – The Phnom Penh Post.
