Inside Asian Gaming

IAG OCT 2019年10月 亞博匯 33 封面故事 Despite the flight, much of the building activity in Sihanoukville continues. Some online operations have already shut down, but many are continuing until the deadline. Some operators hold out hope that LDOs will get a reprieve, though Hun Sen’s government appears to be holding firm. FootballBet.com’s Leppo believes Cambodia will end online gaming on 31 December. “Do I think this is going to be a permanent situation? No … the online business in Southeast Asia has gotten so big, they’re going to have to regulate it. Governments are going to have to take a serious stand. They have to establish regulators that are going to do due diligence.” BALANCING ACT Cambodia has been expected to approve a gaming law for several years. That pending legislation presents a window for the kingdom to create a new framework for online gaming, along other industry segments, that accommodates domestic demands and China’s concerns. Leppo expects greater oversight will mean fewer and more expensive online licenses. Higher prices, less competition and greater regulation could pave the way for established international operators from the European Union (or the US, as it introduces online gaming) to enter the Asian market. It could also lay the foundation for finding a model that takes overseas players out of the gray market. “Cambodia is going to catch its breath. Whether they go with a US model or a Macau model or an Australia model, they will have online gaming in some form again,” Leppo, who operates under a Cambodian sports betting license unaffected by the online ban, says. “They want the revenue stream and they want the relationship with Beijing to move forward without a hiccup. Cambodia doesn’t want to lose that.” Meanwhile other jurisdictions will seek to fill the void. Cambodia’s ban plus President Duterte’s decision to allow POGOs to continue to operate despite China’s concerns prompted a 200,000 square meter (2.2 million square foot) surge in demand for Manila office space in early September, Leechui reports. “It’s estimated 200,000 Chinese online workers were in Cambodia. Two-thirds have left and more go every day.” – Tim Shepherd 「柬埔寨約有20萬中國員工從事網絡在線博彩 行業。三分之二的人已經離開了，而且每天都還 有人離開。」 – Tim Shepherd 儘管大批人離去，西哈努克的很多樓宇裏業務仍在繼續。 一些網絡業務已經關閉，但還有很多仍在繼續直至最後期限。 儘管洪森政府的態度很強硬，但一些營運商仍希望LDO可以獲得 延期。 FootballBet.com的Leppo相信柬埔寨將在12月31日結束網 絡博彩。「你問我這會永遠繼續下去嗎？不……東南亞的網絡博 彩業務已經變得如此龐大，他們不得不對其進行監管。政府將不 得不採取嚴肅的立場。他們必須建立監管機構，進行盡職調查。」 平衡措施 柬埔寨的博彩立法已進行多年。這懸而未決的法案或為柬埔 寨王國打開一扇窗，為其網絡博彩及其他相關分部打造一個新的 框架，以滿足國內需求及應對中國的擔憂。Leppo認為，更為嚴格 的監管意味著網絡博彩牌照數量將會大減，且更為昂貴。高昂的 價格、更少的競爭及更嚴格的監管或可為來自歐盟（或引入網絡 博彩的美國）的老牌國際營運商進入亞洲市場鋪平道路。這有可 能為海外參與者找出一種將其帶出灰色市場的模式奠定基礎。 「柬埔寨會先喘口氣。無論他們選擇美國模式、澳門模式還 是澳洲模式，他們都將再次以某種形式進行網絡博彩。」Leppo表 示。他的公司持有柬埔寨體育博彩牌照，未受網博禁令波及。「他