A glitzy neon sign on Monivong Boulevard might herald a new age of gambling in the capital, as a slew of slot machine businesses prepare to open and cater to Cambodian gamblers in the coming months.
The Diplomat, a collection of 20 slot machines, opened earlier this month and is the first of several branches scheduled to begin operating in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, management said Monday.
Video gambling has largely been banned in Phnom Penh since 1998, when police cracked down on casinos within 200 km of Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh, with the exception of the Naga casino.
Yet The Diplomat claims it has licenses from all the relevant ministries, and an undersecretary at the Council of Ministers said Monday that Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Minister of Interior Sar Kheng had approved the operations and other slot machines to be opened soon at Phnom Penh Hotel and the Holiday International Hotel.
Sar Kheng could not be reached Monday. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Monday he was unaware of of any new slot machine licenses.
A manager at The Diplomat named Neno explained that the business could operate because it did not contain table games like baccarat, poker or blackjack, and, thus, was not technically a casino.
He said The Diplomat, a locally registered company with ties to an unnamed Malaysian company, planned to open another branch near Olympic Stadium and another in Siem Reap.
Slot machines, which have surreptitiously operated in the backs of many Phnom Penh cafes, are apparently legal for Cambodians. Gamblers of all nationalities were seen trying their luck at The Diplomat last weekend.
It is illegal for Cambodians to gamble in casinos such as Naga or the other dozen casinos throughout the country, which mostly cater to Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese gamblers who trek across the Cambodian border.
