A security guard stands in front of a closed branch of Sporting Live in Phnom Penh on Thursday. The company is the latest gambling entity to face closure, it said. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)Friday, 27 February 2009
Written by Chun Sophal and Hor Hab The Phnom Penh Post
Sporting Live Group among many gaming venues shut down across the Kingdom following Prime Minister Hun Sen's crackdown on Cambo Six.
THE government's crackdown on licensed gambling extended beyond Cambo Six on Thursday following an earlier directive targeting all electronic gaming, slot machines and sports betting in the Kingdom, officials said.
Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said he issued a declaration Wednesday terminating all previously valid licenses following a directive by Prime Minister Hun Sen the same day ending gambling to "make social reform, strengthen public order, and improve social morality".
"We will punish - in accordance with the law - any business licensee who disrespects this declaration," Keat Chhon said.
Sporting Live Group, an internet-based sports gambling chain set up in 2006, was forced to close, it said Thursday, the latest company to be hit by the government crackdown on gambling after Hun Sen's abrupt announcement on Tuesday that Cambo Six would be closed for moral reasons.
"We agreed to close our business in accordance with the government's decision," said a Sporting Live employee who requested anonymity.
Its Phnom Penh branches were shuttered Thursday, while other officials outside the capital reported they had forced closures in the provinces.
Like Cambo Six, Sporting Live also has foreign backers, although the company employee refused to answer questions about the overseas money invested. It employs 200 workers, he said.
Both Sporting Live and Cambo Six said Thursday that they had not been able to pay out all winnings owed to customers because of the crackdown, despite Keat Chhon's insistence that all punters could be paid by the end of Wednesday.
Nancy Chau, manager of Cambo Six's head office, said Thursday that during a meeting with Keat Chhon the previous day, she had been advised to send a letter to the prime minister requesting a compromise on the issue in a bid to save the considerable investment - both domestic and foreign - in the company.
Chau said there had been no reply from Hun Sen as of Thursday afternoon.
"We do not know [the response] - we are lost right now," she said.
Daun Penh district Governor Sok Sambath told the Post he had followed the government's directive to cease the operations of licensed gaming venues.
"We have closed all seven Cambo Six branches, three Sporting Live branches and nine slot-machine venues in Daun Penh, he said.
In Preah Sihanouk province, Governor Sboang Sarath also closed a number of gambling venues, he said.
In Phnom Penh, however, the NagaWorld, a riverside casino featuring slot machines, was still operating as normal on Thursday afternoon.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STEVE FINCH
THE government's crackdown on licensed gambling extended beyond Cambo Six on Thursday following an earlier directive targeting all electronic gaming, slot machines and sports betting in the Kingdom, officials said.
Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said he issued a declaration Wednesday terminating all previously valid licenses following a directive by Prime Minister Hun Sen the same day ending gambling to "make social reform, strengthen public order, and improve social morality".
"We will punish - in accordance with the law - any business licensee who disrespects this declaration," Keat Chhon said.
Sporting Live Group, an internet-based sports gambling chain set up in 2006, was forced to close, it said Thursday, the latest company to be hit by the government crackdown on gambling after Hun Sen's abrupt announcement on Tuesday that Cambo Six would be closed for moral reasons.
"We agreed to close our business in accordance with the government's decision," said a Sporting Live employee who requested anonymity.
Its Phnom Penh branches were shuttered Thursday, while other officials outside the capital reported they had forced closures in the provinces.
Like Cambo Six, Sporting Live also has foreign backers, although the company employee refused to answer questions about the overseas money invested. It employs 200 workers, he said.
Both Sporting Live and Cambo Six said Thursday that they had not been able to pay out all winnings owed to customers because of the crackdown, despite Keat Chhon's insistence that all punters could be paid by the end of Wednesday.
Nancy Chau, manager of Cambo Six's head office, said Thursday that during a meeting with Keat Chhon the previous day, she had been advised to send a letter to the prime minister requesting a compromise on the issue in a bid to save the considerable investment - both domestic and foreign - in the company.
"We agreed to close our business in accordance with the government's decision""We told the prime minister we have an agreement; we cannot immediately end the agreement," she said, referring to the company's licence, which before this week's forced termination had been valid until January 31, 2011.
Chau said there had been no reply from Hun Sen as of Thursday afternoon.
"We do not know [the response] - we are lost right now," she said.
Daun Penh district Governor Sok Sambath told the Post he had followed the government's directive to cease the operations of licensed gaming venues.
"We have closed all seven Cambo Six branches, three Sporting Live branches and nine slot-machine venues in Daun Penh, he said.
In Preah Sihanouk province, Governor Sboang Sarath also closed a number of gambling venues, he said.
In Phnom Penh, however, the NagaWorld, a riverside casino featuring slot machines, was still operating as normal on Thursday afternoon.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STEVE FINCH
12 comments:
Wow!
I tell ya, don't mess with Sen!
Sen is Sen,,,,, whatever he does is Sen!!! Nothing on his head, but Sen!!!
Yep, Thy shall not mess around with Tevada Sen from Heaven.
If you know Smdeach HUN SEN don't messup with him.Just warning!
I wonder what people at KI actually feel when they criticize even when Hun Sen closes down bad things like gambling to be such a bunch of cynical fools use any mean to blast him regardless of what he does. For the last straw, you really outproven yourself to be nothing but a politcal tool. May god have mercy on lost souls that can't see reality for what it is. Keep on living your made-belief nightmares of Cambodia while the rest of Khmer moves forward.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that Pouk Ah Scam Rainxy (KI) is anything more than a troublemaker.
Closing CamboSix or Sporting Live Group is a good action. But the way the government use to terminate these venues couldn't avoid the critics. Because action taken place only when PM cries out loud during a public ceremony he presides over. We have seen these methods for several years. I think people here still remembered the way he closed Karaoke, and now there are even more Karaoke than before the closing.
The sudden closure of duly licenced gambling houses should remind one of the the closure of karaoke parlours some years ago.
Both businesses were closed at the click of a finger without any regard to the government's responsibility when it had issued such licences, without regard to losses to the owners, and without regard to the job and well-being of employees working in those places.
How one would feel when one loses one's job suddenly like tat and when one live from hand to mouth? And in the absence of any social security system to help tide over?
On 17 April 1975 millions living in town were suddly forced to live a different life in the counryside. How miserable they were!
How miserable Karaoke employees, maily girls and women, were when their parlours were ordered to close all of a sudden! Some of them were forced to pry their trade in gardens or other places.
In future the government should better plan any closure of businesses allowing more time for owners to do other businesses and for employees to find other jobs. Such closures would be as effective if and when law enforcement agents are effective and are not corrupt.
It may be argued that such sudden closures are needed as planned ones would not be effective because of ineptitude and corruption of law enforcement agencies. But it is wrong to make those businesses and their employees pay the price of such ineptitude and corruption, which is the responsiblity of the government.
Anyway, let's hope that the closure of licenced gambling houses are more successful than the closure of those Karaoke parlours, and there are no unlicnced gambling houses to replace the licened ones.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
Is that how they do things in Hong Kong or in the UK, dr Lao, or are you just picking on Khmer government just to kill some of your spare time? LOL.
Actually, I do agreed with you to a certain extend. If it doesn't cause any personal harm to anyone, then a fair warning should be given to everyone ahead of time; but then again, if there is no cause of personal harm, then there is no reason to close anything down to begin with. LOL.
On the other hand, if a restaurant served bad food, it should be shut down in the spot to prevent further personal harm to the public. Won't you agreed? If so, wouldn't you think gambling could be categorized as restaurant that served bad food to Khmer people?
If you voted for CPP (Cambodian People's Party):
Also known as:
Communist People's Party
Khmer Rouge People's Party
Khmer Krorhorm People's Party
You're support the killing of 1.7 million innocent Khmer peoples in Cambodia.
You're support the killing of innocent men, women and children on March 30, 1997 in Cambodia.
You're support assassination of journalists in Cambodia.
You're support political assassination and killing in Cambodia.
You're support attempted assassination and murder of leader of the free trade union in Cambodia.
You're support corruption in Cambodia.
You're support murder of Piseth Pilika (Hun Sen's affaire).
You're support Hun Sen Regime burn poor people's house down to the ground and leave them homeless.
Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin was a former Khmer Rouge commanders.
Now, Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin are Khmer Rouge leaders, since their leader (Pol Pot) is dead.
From 1975 to 1979, these Khmer Rouge commanders responsible for killing 1.7 million innocent Khmer peoples in Cambodia.
From 1980 to present, these Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for killing innocent men, women and children on March 30, 1997, assassinated journalists, political assassination and killing, murder of Piseth Pilika (Hun Sen's affaire) and attempted assassinated and murder of leader of the free trade union in Cambodia.
When is the ECCC going to bring these three criminals to U.N. Khmer Rouge Tribunal?
Khmer Rouge Regime is a genocide organization.
Hun Sen Regime is a terrorist organization.
Hun Sen Bodyguards is a terrorist organization.
Hun Sen Death Squad is a terrorist organization.
Cambodian People's Party is a terrorist organization.
I have declare the current Cambodian government which is lead by the Cambodian People's Party as a terrorist organization.
Whoever associate with the current Cambodian government are associate with a terrorist organization.
Hun Sen's government committed:
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Drugs Trafficking
Intimidation
Death Threat
Assassination
Murder
Killing
Terrorism
Mass Eviction, by burn poor people's house down to the ground and leave them homeless.
Land Grabbing
Corruptions
Injustice
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Steal Votes
Violates the Constitution
These are the Trade Marks of Hun Sen Regime.
Under Hun Sen Regime, no criminals that has been committed murder and all other crimes within Hun Sen's government ever been brought to justice.
Information change without notice as it become available.
Mr. 9:39AM,
Thank you for your comment on my comment.
If you compare the gambling houses which have been closed at the click of a finger to a restaurant which serves bad food, those gambling houses were serving "bad food" right from the start and have continued to serve it for years. Why just all of a sudden somebody woke up in the morning and realised they served bad food and needed to be closed?
You probably need more ex post (after the event) explanation to justfy those closures.
I would suggest to our government to launch a sustained campaign to urge people to stay away from the three well known follies Cambodian moralist poets had urged their fellow countrymen to avoid: womanising, drinking and gabling (Lok tha chhkuot bey, chhuot muoy proh srey, chhjuot muoy proh sra, chhkuot moy proh lboeng ampeu pealea ...).
Right now in Hong Kong there is a campaign against gambling: "Don't gamble away your life".
I would also urge our government to tell our people not only to stay away from those follies, but also to have hobbies or engage themselves in other activies in their spare time to kill their boredom, for instance writing in blogs like you and me, reading, writing, composing poetry, painting, doing handicraft work, walking (if there is space to walk around), angling (fishing), playing music, playing golf (if they are rich) or other sports (if there are any sports grounds left), picking plastic bags (in or around school yards)and other thrash in public places, helping poor peasants to do their farm work like tilling their land, planting rice seedlings for them, harvesting, etc...)
If you're working in the government, you should convey these suggestions to its leadership. Maybe you could consider this exercise as one more hobbies of yours.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
I know what you mean, Dr Lao. If it were a factory that is closing down in the flash, I would have agreed with you 100%, but somehow for closing down a gambling house, I don't believe it is as clear cut as closing down a factory, but I could go both way, that is with or without warning. I have to be open mind or both sides of the argument about this.
I believe if there is a personal harm involved, they ought to be able to shut it down on the spot, otherwise a warning ahead of time should be given as you have suggested is highly welcome.
Post a Comment