Cambodia allows LYP Group casinos to launch online gaming operations

Cambodian conglomerate LYP Group Co Ltd has been given permission to launch online gambling operations. The group owns three casinos on the border with Thailand and it’s run by the national senator since 2006 Ly Yong Phat.

The news was reported by Khmer Times and according to the newspaper the government gave green light for adding online gambling on horse races, football, golf and cock fighting. Reportedly, the written permission was contained in a letter dated 15^th of September and has been endorsed by Hun Sen, the Cambodian Prime Minister, on 14^th of September.

The governor of the Koh Kong province, Bun Leut, stated that Koh Kong Resort, the LYP casino in the region, was showing good results and pointed out that new gaming options would encourage Thai citizens to visit Cambodia in order to gamble.

A total of 75 casino gaming licences have been issued in Cambodia up till this moment and 10 of them were approved in Q3. According to some reports, most licences were granted to Sihanoukville region operators that plan to launch online gambling services. A real hit is the development of Chinese live dealer casino sites that target players from China, where gambling is banned.

Gaming activities earned Cambodia $12 million in taxes in the first half of 2015. This number is bigger than the last year’s results for 20% and shows that the casino industry in the country is moving towards a positive direction.

In early October the National Bank of Cambodia announced its plans to collect precise data from casinos. According to Central bank director general Chea Serey, approximately 40% (about $2 billion) of the total amount spent by non-residents in Cambodia in 2014 goes to gambling.