Central bank director general Chea Serey has announced that Cambodia’s casino industry generated an estimated $2 billion [U.S.] revenue in 2014 from non-residents, and was assessed as approximately 40% of the country’s total international travel credits. The valuation was delivered during a seminar on the statistics of international trade.

The director also announced that the National Bank of Cambodia will begin collecting data directly from the county’s casinos, a move expected to be met with some resistance. Ms. Serey acknowledged that there was an “aversion” to reporting financial information in her country.

Malaysian-owned NagaWorld, located in Phnom Penh, is the only casino in Cambodia not located along the country’s border crossings. Cambodia does not allow its residents to gamble in the country’s casinos.

The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance reported that Cambodia collected tax revenue of more than $25 million [U.S.] from the country’s 55 casinos last year, and approximately $22 million [U.S.] from the current 64 casinos during the first six months of 2015 – double the reported amount from the same time frame last year.

During the third quarter of 2015, Cambodia issues licenses for an additional 10 casinos, for a total of 75 within the country. These newest licenses will serve regions where there is currently limited gambling as well as adding to the number a casinos located between the Cambodia and Thailand border.