More and more Thai’s playing in Cambodia

The Cambodian Town of Poipet is only three hours away from Bankok, the capital of Thailand.
It has become a very popular destination for gambling, and now boasts nine land based casinos.
Following a wave of major crackdowns of the illegal gambling market in Thailand, conducted by the ruling Thai junta, the city of Poipet is experiencing a growth of their success, which only increases the tensions that exist between the two countries in South-East Asia.

A clear message to players and illegal operators

On May 22, a military junta took over power in Thailand, and started a large crackdown on gambling, which is mostly prohibited in the countries of South-East Asia.
Dozens of arrests took place throughout the country during multiple raids of illegal online and offline casinos, and a lot of equipment was seized.
Despite this, over half a million illegal bets have been recorded since the start of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil on June 12.
In a clear message to players and illegal operators, the military regime reiterated their desire to increase the crackdown on illegal gambling.
This warning is a real boon for the casinos in Poipet that offer slot machines, table games and sports betting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The growing success of Poipet

As gambling is prohibited in their country, the Thai’s bet millions of dollars abroad each year.
Most of them go to Poipet to play in one of the nine casinos in the city.
The authorities know that they cannot prevent them from crossing the border.
The average revenue in the Cambodian city rose from 9 to 12 billion dollars in one year, and the gaming industry of Poipet can now compete with Macao who peaked at their new record from 2013 with 45 billion dollars.
The Cambodian city has become more successful over the last decade.
This is not only due to the Football World Cup in Brazil and the suppression of the Thai junta that is against gambling and could hinder the growing popularity.