Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING OCTOBER 2018 48 COLUMNISTS is dramatically different from current commercial structures. Many of these are high-density/high-rise developments, up to 47 floors tall. These projects will target Chinese second home owners that vacation or conduct business in the city. LIVE DEALER ONLINE What is unique to Cambodian casinos is their collective embrace of a hybrid form of internet wagering called Live Dealer Online (LDO) gaming. In most Cambodian casinos, a separate table game pit is reserved for patrons who wish to gamble from remote locations, ostensibly in other countries. These tables are equipped with special lighting and high-resolution cameras. Prior to wagering for the first time, a customer must first visit their preferred casino, open an account and place money on deposit. With an account now open, a visitor to a casino’s live-wagering website can look at the faces of all the dealers and select a table to play at. Visitors can also observe casino customers walking in the background, further assuring them that they are playing a live game. Once a table is selected and a bet is made online, the dealer commences the game. Customers observe the outcome of those games on their computers or mobile devices. While the wager is made online, LDO allows customers to play against a person, not a computer, and witness in real time the outcome of each game. This type of online wagering allows gamers to overcome the trepidation and mistrust often associated with playing a computer game. It allows remote wagering with the assurance that the game is legitimate. Junket operators have also moved into the LDO market. Operating under a casino’s license, junket operators manage LDO table game pits in their host’s casino. They in turn provide credit to online customers, thereby allowing patrons the convenience of not having to replenish their accounts when they extinguish their gaming funds. With more robust gaming regulations, a very reasonable gaming tax rate and the government’s commitment to use gaming and tourism as tools for economic development, Cambodia’s casinos are rapidly evolving. Cambodia is rising from a tertiary gaming market to a super-regional gaming destination. Operators in other markets are advised to take notice. The beach province of Sihanoukville has seen an explosion in casino and hotel development since 2015