NagaWorld can open mass, set for fully operational casino 

Jul 20, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Casino group NagaCorp Ltd says it has been allowed by the Cambodian government to reopen “all of its casino businesses”, including mass market gaming tables.

Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp operates the NagaWorld gaming complex (pictured in a file photo) in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, under a long-life monopoly licence for that metropolis.

NagaCorp had announced earlier this month that it had negotiated a deal with the Cambodian government under which the firm had been allowed from July 8 to reopen its VIP table games and slot machine business as part of that nation’s exit from Covid-19 countermeasures. In comments to GGRAsia on July 9, NagaCorp’s chairman Tim McNally said the reopening of the VIP and slot-machine businesses generated a “very positive public response”.

In a filing to the Hong Kong exchange on Sunday, NagaCorp stated that it had received a confirmation from the Cambodian Ministry of Health stating it had “no objection to the group to reopen all of its casino businesses consisting of the mass market, VIP and slot gaming machines businesses.”

The confirmation came via an annexure to a memorandum of understanding signed on June 30 between NagaCorp and the nation’s Ministry of Health. The document featured a string of rules set by the ministry to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks at the NagaWorld complex.

Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen said on July 3 that casino operators across the nation would be allowed to resume operations if they met health requirements to prevent Covid-19 outbreaks at their respective venues.

Each operator is required to sign an agreement or a memorandum of understanding with the Cambodian Ministry of Health on the implementation of rules to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spread at their properties. Only upon receiving a certificate of clearance by the ministry, can firms resume their gaming operations.

NagaCorp received its certificate of clearance on July 5.

All casinos in Cambodia had been ordered to shut down temporarily with effect from April 1, as part of a number of measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 infection.

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