The development of gambling in Cambodia started late, but its rapid rise has been astonishing: In 2014, Cambodia issued the "Royal Decree on the Management of Commercial Gambling", which brought the gambling industry under fiscal taxation, thereby legalizing it. The extremely lenient policies meant that the doors were opened wide to foreign capital (gambling companies), and countless "gold diggers" rushed in, especially to Sihanoukville (hereinafter referred to as "West Port"), where skyscrapers have risen from the ground in just a few years.
Meanwhile, as China and the Philippines intensified their crackdown on gambling, many gamblers began to "go overseas" in search of a new paradise. "West Port," with its superior geographical location and relaxed legal environment, became the top choice for gamblers.
Since 2015, local casinos have sprung up like mushrooms after the rain. By the end of 2018, Cambodia had 150 licensed casinos, with West Port accounting for 88 of them, a 53% increase compared to 2017!
The booming gambling industry has tempted countless "gold diggers" and gamblers, leading to a sudden surge in the local real estate market. For example, West Port, once a quiet little fishing village, saw its property prices astonishingly increase by more than 300% between 2015 and 2018.
According to statistics from the Cambodian media "Phnom Penh Post," by the first half of 2019, some areas in West Port reached a land price of $3000 per square meter (equivalent to more than 20,000 RMB)! Prices in the central business district were even more exaggerated, with places smaller than 1000 square meters priced between $4000 and $5000 per square meter. What does this mean?!
It must be said that the gambling industry has indeed brought very considerable tax revenue to the local finances, so they have introduced a series of land policies, including selling state-owned land at low prices to gambling companies and Chinese-funded real estate projects, simplifying land approval processes, and allowing foreigners to lease land for long periods (up to 99 years).
With policy support, speculators have joined in, artificially driving housing prices to exorbitant levels! Originally living off fishing, the residents, although gathered on invaluable land, could not afford the rising cost of living. Some chose to take out high-interest loans to buy property, while many others could only become tenants or homeless.
For gambling, for winning, some are deeply mired in sin and unable to extricate themselves; for money, for desire, some use the "legality" to provide cover for telecom fraud, and groups of telecom fraud gangs have taken root here.
In 2019, West Port witnessed a kidnapping case that shocked both countries: Several Chinese citizens, heavily indebted at local casinos, were kidnapped and forced to participate in telecom fraud activities. These victims were forced to beg their families and friends for money and provide information on others, helping the telecom fraud gangs find their next targets. Eventually, after joint actions by Chinese and Cambodian police, 13 kidnapped individuals were rescued.
It can be said that the proliferation of the gambling industry and the real estate bubble directly provided a breeding ground for telecom fraud, becoming the "Southeast Asian pig-butchering plate" incubator.
It must be said that the local government indeed faces a dilemma in regulating the gambling industry: on one hand, the gambling industry has caused the economic level to skyrocket; on the other hand, a society filled with kidnapping, robbery, and violence has stained Cambodia's reputation. More and more Chinese people encounter misfortunes in Cambodia, and although the local government ostensibly strengthens supervision and law enforcement, corruption and indulgence still cause many cases to be buried in darkness.
Success and failure both stem from gambling; behind the economic prosperity lies a dark reality woven from privilege, corruption, and violence. This outcome, although already predicted by the Philippines, was not heeded by Cambodia.
From the Philippines to Cambodia, a series of gambles on human nature operate day and night locally, the huge real estate bubble provides a "fig leaf" for organized crime groups, and also a breeding ground for telecom fraud.
When evil meets network technology, Southeast Asia gradually evolves into a fearsome empire of cross-border telecom fraud. A chain-like crime ecosystem turns Cambodia into a labyrinth of "orange and darkness," where corruption and indulgence provide the perfect cover for the crime ecosystem.
