[PHNOM PENH POST]
The Kingdom’s 27 casinos are set to generate about US$20 million in tax
revenue for the government in 2011, a 25 per cent year-on-year increase,
according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
At least one
government official, however, said the lack of a regulatory regime for
the casino industry prevented Cambodia collecting many times that
amount.
That $20 million target was in line with estimates at the
beginning of the year, May Vann, director of the ministry’s Department
of Industry and Finance, said yesterday.
Year-on-year revenues jumped 23 per cent in 2010, reaching $16 million, according to MEF data.
May
Vann credited the growth to Cambodia’s burgeoning tourism industry and
an expansion in some economies, including that of the Kingdom.
Consumers had become more confident in their spending as a result, he
said.
“We do believe we can achieve our target [of growing 25 per
cent year-on-year] because our revenue went up, along with the growing
number of foreign tourists, and an improvement in the domestic and
world economies,” May Vann said.
The biggest casino profits were
made in Poipet, on the border with Thailand, and in Bavet, on the
Vietnamese border, according to the ministry. Many visitors are Thais
and Vietnamese who enter the Kingdom specifically to gamble.
The
border conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand that dominated much of
the year had not affected the casino sector, Mey Vann said, because
visitors had returned in large numbers after Yingluck Shinawatra was
elected as Thai Prime Minister in July.
Minister of Tourism Thong
Kong said yesterday that although many visitors to Cambodia came to see
cultural sites such as Angkor Wat, a small percentage, namely Thais
and Vietnamese, frequented the Kingdom's casinos.
But Son Chhay, a
Sam Rainsy Party member who serves in the National Assembly, said the
Cambodian government was letting vast sums of tax revenue go uncollected
because the industry lacked proper regulation.
He claimed that countries that laid down clear tax rules for casinos gained greater benefits overall for their economies.
“Many
countries impose not less than 50 per cent of a casino’s profit. If our
casinos generate around $500 million a year, that means we could be
collecting at least $200 million,” Son Chhay said.
MEF chief of casino management Chrun Theravath could not be reached for comment yesterday.
This is the reason why casino games and gambling online should not be taken for granted. It is a great source of income for the players and for the operators as well.
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