Cheam Yeap, chairman of the National Assembly’s Commission on Economy, Finance, Banking and Audit, said: “This law is aimed to ensure management of the integrated commercial gambling centres and commercial gambling to contribute towards boosting economic growth, promoting the tourism sector, creating more jobs, collecting revenue, and maintaining social safety and security.”
According to local media The Khmer Times, the draft law will allow for more effective control over casinos and other commercial gaming sectors. It sets a minimum capital for the investment in a casino, it will introduce mechanisms to prevent money laundering and terrorist funding and even designate gambling areas in the country.
The minimum investment level hasn’t been decided yet, but the GGR will likely have a 7% taxation.
The lack of regulatory law to oversee gambling has caused troubling gambling activities. While the country had a law preventing illegal gambling, there was no strict system to enforce it. With the introduced draft law, the judiciary bodies should be able to carry out their responsibilities more efficiently.
Minister of Economy and Finance, Aun Pornmoniroth, said the new law would provide measures to build greater capacity, including utilization of appropriate technology, to improve monitoring of casinos.
However, it also aims to assist Cambodia’s casino industry to become competitive on a global scale by providing more attractive regulatory framework with which to attract more foreign direct investment.
“Regulations on the commercial gambling sector are designed to enable the sector to operate under the umbrella of transparent law,” Pornmoniroth said.
Source: GMB
