Cambodia – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
To say that gambling laws in Cambodia are confusing would be a little bit of an understatement. There are a lot of casinos available to play in Cambodia, but if you are a Cambodian local, you can not play in them by law. The government only allows casinos to be played in by visitors to the country, with online gambling being illegal as well. That being said, there are several options for gambling online in the country, with a range of international casinos operating there. This, of course, comes with its own set of risks that players should be made aware of.
Find the Best Cambodia Casino Online
Due to the restrictions put in place in Cambodia, players in the country are forced to look overseas to get their online gambling fix. While the majority of these casinos are likely to be safe and provide a good gambling experience, there might be some unlicensed and unsafe operators which may be problematic. There are a few red flags that players should be aware of and there are also some key questions that players should ask before parting ways with their hard-earned cash.
- Does the operator accept players from Cambodia?
- Do they have any safety features like end-to-end encryption?
- What types of games do they offer?
- Do they work with reputable software developers?
- What currencies are accepted at the casino? Do they accept cryptocurrencies?
- Are there any experiences documented online by other casino players?
- Are players from Cambodia able to take part in welcome bonuses and other promotions?
Cambodian players may still find it tricky to know which casinos are worth playing at and which ones are better to avoid. Here at GoodLuckMate, we have spent hundreds of hours playing at casinos in order to help you out. In these reviews, we provide an in-depth analysis of the games collection, as well as the bonuses and promotions that are on offer on the site.
Gambling Regulation – The Law on the Suppression of Gambling
Cambodia has a long and complicated history with gambling. After being banned for decades, the ban on gambling was lifted in the country in the early 1990s but was then reinstated in 1996 thanks to the law on the suppression of gambling. All gambling licenses were annulled and all forms of gambling were banned for Cambodian residents. The government realized, however, that there was money to be made from the gambling industry, so it allowed visitors to the country to gamble at its casinos.
These casinos offer a wide variety of different games including blackjack, roulette, poker, baccarat, and more. These games are banned anywhere in the country outside of these casinos. This ban is also extended to online casinos. No casino can operate legally online in Cambodia. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t a range of gambling options available for players online though, with many international online casinos operating there.
One local option that is available to players is the lottery. The Pan Cambodian Lottery is the national lottery and it holds a monopoly over this market. Once again, there are several online options from overseas casinos available.
Localized Online Casinos
While they may not target Colombia specifically, there are many online casinos that do operate in South America and target these markets. The main language that people speak in Colombia is Spanish. This also happens to be one of the most spoken languages in the world and as such, many online casinos will operate using it.
A lot of international casinos will not allow players from Colombia to sign up to use their service due to the laws in the country, so finding a site that allows players may be the biggest stumbling block. If they can find a site that will accept them though, many online casinos are going to offer them a range of bonuses and promotions. We do recommend that players go through the terms and conditions on the site before attempting to claim anything.
Gambling with the Colombian Peso
Due to Colombia’s strict gambling laws, it is uncommon that you will find many online casinos that will accept their currency, the Colombian Peso, for deposits. Most international casinos are likely to only accept deposits made in bigger currencies like the United States dollar or the euro. If players are unable to deposit using any of the currencies that are offered by a casino, then an option that could work is depositing using cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are fairly popular in Cambodia. In fact, there is a Bitcoin exchange set up there. However, Bitcoin gambling is technically illegal so players would have to be careful if they decided to do this. There are, however, many online casinos that will accept this as a form of currency for deposits.
Casinos in Cambodia
Cambodia has a thriving casino culture, with many of the biggest casinos in the country being located in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh. Unfortunately for Cambodians, these casinos are only available to foreigners. The country has strict gambling laws for locals but the government does like to benefit from the gambling tax imposed on foreigners. Many of the casinos in the country are located near the borders. This is to capitalize on the stricter rules that are in place in neighboring countries. In total, there are over 50 different casinos available for visitors in the country.
If Cambodians want to gamble, then they will have to look at doing so online. This can be difficult, as we’ve already mentioned, due to the fact that gambling laws in the country can be very strict. If you want to play, it would have to be at an international casino, and as some of these might operate without a license, we would advise that you approach the site with caution. To find out how safe a site is, we recommend checking out our detailed reviews elsewhere on the site.
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
