Cambodia’s Gambling Boom

There’s a casino construction boom going on across Asia, and nowhere is it more intense than in Cambodia, where more than 38 have been built in the last 15 years. Ed Butler reports from Bavet on the border with Vietnam, where a string of casinos now cater exclusively to Vietnamese gamblers, who are given strong incentives to cross into Cambodia to chance their arm. Hundreds come every day. But do they understand the risks, financial and personal? We hear stories of imprisonment, beatings and severe gambling addiction.

Produced and presented by Ed Butler

(Image of Nagaworld, the largest casino in Phnom Penh, one of more than 25 Cambodian casinos.)