Virtue Resources Corp sets its sight on Cambodia's thriving border casino market whilst tensions mount between Thailand and Cambodia.

Plans are steaming ahead for Vietnam based Virtue Resources Corp’s upcoming casino resort Empire World City. The 124 acre entertainment megapolis will be based in dusty Cambodian town Bavet, which straddles the Cambodia/Vietnam border. 

Construction is expected to take a decade, with the first phase of development aiming for completion in 2019. The $200 million site will encompass a casino, hotel resort, water show arena and shopping mall, creating at least 3,000 local jobs.

“We are building this mega project because we saw the potential of economic growth in Cambodia for the next ten years,” stated Mr. Chew, group CEO at Virtue Resources Corporation. “We believe that Empire World city will boost the local economy by attracting neighbouring Vietnamese into the city.”

Although gambling is illegal for local Cambodians, Casino strips are prevalent between border checkpoints, allowing foreign nationals to gamble unfettered by visa restrictions. More than half of Cambodia’s $37.4 million gambling profit is pulled from border casinos.

“They nickname Bavet ‘casino city’,” said Jonny Ferrari, a gaming industry consultant based in Cambodia. “Every day, it is only Vietnamese coming in – in and out, in and out, all the time.”

Vietnam’s recent moves to ease gambling regulations within its borders may affect Empire World City’s prospects. 

“Slow development is not necessarily a bad thing,” commented hRos Phirun, deputy director of finance at Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). 

“As those that try to build too quickly can only capture the low and medium gaming segment. A longer timeline will allow it to slowly capture the high-end market. And even if it doesn’t capture the high-end market, the development could be profitable by operating online gambling websites because that is a worldwide industry.”

While relations between Cambodia and Vietnam remain cordial, tension mounts between Thailand and Cambodia. Earlier this month Thai tourists eager to get to new Cambodian resort and casino Saitaku were blocked from crossing the checkpoint by Thai soldiers.

Thailand doesn’t allow casino gambling within its borders, a prohibition that has benefited Cambodia’s thriving border casino industry. Thai military have remained tight-lipped about the situation, claiming that they are following normal procedure.

Cambodian officials retaliated by preventing their citizens from entering Thailand, wreaking havoc with non-gambling merchants on both sides of the border who depend on tourism for their business. The Bangkok Post reported that trade has plunged from several million baht a week to almost nothing.

The situation was sparked by Thai provocateur Veera Somkwamkid’s claims that the Saitaku casino was located inside the confines of a Thai national park. Although the region has been the subject of numerous border disputes between the two nations over the years, Thailand’s National Parks Department insisted that the casino was clearly on Cambodia’s side of the dividing line. 

The venue has remained entirely neutral throughout.