Cambodia confirms casino prohibition at Angkor Wat

A government official has warned that casino developments will not be allowed in the area near the temple complex.

Cambodia.- The Cambodian government has reiterated that casinos will not be permitted in the area near Angkor Wat (Siem Reap province), after NagaCorp said it was planning to “explore viable and profitable IR development in the Siem Reap and Sihanoukville areas”.

NagaCorp has a long-standing casino monopoly in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh and surroundings. It did not specify that its development interests in Siem Reap included a casino, but its comments were enough to elicit a clarification from the government.

In Sihanoukville casinos are permitted and have recently reopened after lockdown.

The city of Siem Reap is only a few kilometres south of Cambodia’s UNESCO world heritage site Angkor Wat. Casinos are prohibited in the area.

Asked about NagaCorp’s intentions, Mey Vann, a senior official at the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper: “I know nothing about it, nor do I know what point of reference they are coming from, but our laws bar casinos from Siem Reap’s Angkor area.”

The official added: “If the company wants to develop a [non-casino] IR business, it will have to apply for a licence from the Ministry of Tourism.”