Thailand Military Coup Provokes Mini Casino Boom in Cambodia

Thailand Military Coup Provokes Mini Casino Boom in Cambodia

The Poipet Strip: nine tiny gambling enterprises in a gambling no-man’s-land between the Cambodian and Thai passport control counters. (Image: scbsme.com)

While final month’s armed forces coup in Thailand, which toppled the democratically elected government, may be described as a cause for concern to the international community, it’s reportedly been a huge boon to the little Cambodian gambling city of Poipet, just over the border. Poipet has been a popular destination for the people of Thailand, where gambling on anything other than domestic horseracing and the national lottery is illegal, despite a general enthusiasm among the populace.

Nonetheless, the latest junta that is military authoritarian crackdown on illegal casinos and gambling dens in Thailand is directing the former customers of the unfortunate establishments eagerly towards the dining table games of Poipet.

Cambodia itself has a (loosely enforced) no-gambling policy but, fortunately for all involved, Poipet’s casino strip, which contains nine smallish casinos, is cunningly situated in a kind of gambling no-man’s-land between the Cambodian and Thai passport control counters.

Military Shut Down of Illegal Gambling

The influx stays something of the surprise to the Poipet operators, however, because within the full days following the coup they stated that the number of visitors to the town had dropped dramatically. At the start of June, managing direct Continue reading Thailand Military Coup Provokes Mini Casino Boom in Cambodia