Gaming | Chinese punters flocking to Cambodia’s ‘Macau Number Two’

Motorbike taxis wait outside the New Mei Gao Mei casino in Sihanoukville

As Chinese punters look further into Southeast Asia to satisfy their gambling desires, some observers are beginning to describe the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville as “Macau Number Two”, according to the UK’s Sunday Telegraph.

Home to around 150,000 people, the city is located at the tip of an elevated peninsula in the country’s south-
west. Already, it has transformed into one of Asia’s major gambling hubs, with around 80 newly-built casinos, attracting  120,000 tourists per year.

This is modest compared to Macau, but the growth of 100 percent in arrivals over the past two years is a telling sign that the destination is booming among Chinese gamblers looking to travel further afield than Macau.

The city is located on Cambodia’s only deep-water port, and some suggest that it could play a role in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road development initiative. Cambodia has historically had closer relations with the People’s Republic of China than its other neighbors, namely Vietnam, due to a lack of competing territorial claims in the South China Sea.

China may also use the Sihanoukville development – and separate policies for outbound Chinese tourists – as a way to exert pressure on Cambodia to back China regarding such territorial disputes. Cambodia has previously been accused of “watering down” ASEAN declarations and agreements regarding Chinese policy in the South China Sea.

While relations might be robust between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, things are not so strong on the ground at Sihanoukville.

The rapid development of Sihanoukville into a casino city, catering exclusively to Chinese patrons, has created mutually-exclusive social bubbles in the city that rarely intermix.

The development has forced many locals from property and led to businesses being priced out by Chinese money. It has also reportedly spurred a rise in crime and violent crime, including kidnapping and weapon-assisted assault.