A Malaysian working in Cambodia reveals hidden secrets

Online gambling has been booming in Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia. At first glance, the glamorous websites and attractive live dealers are full of temptations, but behind the scenes there are actually complex legal gray areas and staggering profits. In order to explore the true face of online gambling, we interviewed Nick, a Malaysian who has worked in Cambodian online casinos for four years. He shared everything he saw in this industry without hesitation.

Nick's Background:

Nick entered the online casino industry mainly because he saw the potential to make quick money and a better career than in Malaysia. He was stationed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and his monthly salary was $2,000 (excluding bonuses and dividends). In his hometown, it was almost impossible to get such an income.

Although the salary is attractive, the employer and the entire industry are mostly in the "gray area" legally. Nick said that their "legal" operation headquarters is ostensibly located in Phnom Penh, but the actual operation is in Victory Paradise in Sihanoukville, where many online casinos are gathered. The reason for doing this is that there is a powerful person backing them there, and they are less likely to be noticed by the Cambodian authorities.

“They will register a company in Phnom Penh as a front, mainly for graphic designers and marketing teams. The real gaming business is carried out in Sihanoukville, which is safer and has protection.”

There are three main types of online casinos:

Nick divides the popular online casinos in Southeast Asia into three categories:

Online Casino Scams

These platforms suddenly "disappear" after players deposit a large amount of money. Usually there will be "fake customer service" or "professional consultants" who will continue to recommend bets and give so-called "winning tips" to induce players to continue to recharge. Once enough funds are collected, the platform will shut down, leaving players unable to withdraw money.

"Legal" Online Casinos

The "semi-legal" casinos that Nick mentioned actually occasionally allow players to withdraw money to create a "trustworthy" appearance. They often use real dealers for live broadcasts - young, beautiful, and well-paid models to handle the cards to create a real and attractive atmosphere. It is said that some dealers can earn $5,000 a month just by their appearance.

“They have to be tall and eye-catching. If they look short or sloppy when they stand up from their seats, it will ruin the players’ fantasy.” Nick’s company does not directly hire such models because they are not a top-tier company, but plans to outsource to other manufacturers that specialize in providing live dealers.

"7-11" type casinos are the nickname given by insiders to "one-stop service" - that is, platforms that integrate various gaming games: sports betting, poker, lottery, blackjack, baccarat, etc., in order to satisfy all types of gamblers.

Key to operation: "Algorithm"

Online gaming platforms usually have a secret algorithm to ensure that the "dealer" makes a profit in the long term. Of course, some "big prizes" will be given to a few players to win, but most people will still suffer steady losses in the end, especially those "fake casinos" that want to defraud from the beginning. Even casinos that claim to be "semi-legal" will use mathematical advantages and marketing methods to ensure final profits.

“It’s not really random. You might get lucky and win for a while, but the rules of the game always favor the house. The longer you play, the more you lose.”

Behind the scenes: multi-departmental division of labor

Although these casinos seem to be just a website, they actually have very detailed internal divisions:

Marketing and event planning is led by an experienced manager who is responsible for the entire marketing, influencer cooperation and various promotional activities. They will launch various seemingly "super crazy" marketing, such as: depositing $1,000 to win a ROLEX watch. But Nick said that these prizes are almost never delivered to real players.

"This is simply a numbers game. It makes people think they have a chance to win a big prize, so they keep adding more bets. To put it bluntly, it's just hyping up the atmosphere."

Graphic design is responsible for producing website banners, promotional advertisements and other visual materials to create a professional and beautiful brand image and attract more players.

Customer service mainly handles players' deposits and withdrawals, various questions and inquiries, and 24-hour online customer service. If it is a fraudulent casino, this department usually only exists until it "runs away". If it is a "semi-legal" casino, customer service is very important to ensure that players can trade smoothly and maintain trust.

The technical department is responsible for maintaining the website, developing the game backend, and preventing hackers and internal leaks. Larger companies will build their own technical teams, while smaller ones may outsource.

Although there are gray areas in the human resources (HR) industry, HR management is still quite "formal". They will use online systems, formal briefings, and develop a complete set of recruitment and training processes. Some employees can even work from home, but they must strictly abide by VPN and security protocols.

Regulation and welfare: the looming “corporatization”

Although they seem shady, many online casinos have a "formal company" management model and good benefits, such as:

Company-provided high-end laptops

Flexible working hours, you can go wherever you want after get off work

Adjust holidays according to employee nationality

Free lunch and dinner

However, in return, employees also have to abide by a lot of "unspoken rules", such as mandatory use of VPN, absolute confidentiality, and not taking sensitive information out of the company.

"You can't take the information home, and some details can only be kept in the office. The company will never allow any evidence that may involve 'illegal' to be leaked."

Nick's opinion: On "double standards"

When asked if Nick regretted working in this industry, his answer was straightforward: "No, because the salary is really good. I could never earn this much money in my entire life in Malaysia."

He also raised the issue of so-called "double standards":

"Online gambling is illegal, but the government itself runs a lottery, so why can't we do it? Is it a question of legality or who can profit from it?"

Nick believes that the discussion of "whether gambling is legal or not" is actually secondary. The more important thing is who controls the market and who makes the money. Government-run gambling or lotteries are rarely investigated, while private casinos are often raided or banned. In his opinion, this gap is not just a moral issue, but also related to the government's control over taxation and financial resources.

Conclusion: The banker always has the upper hand

In the four years that he worked at the casino, Nick never gambled once. This was because he knew how terrible the "algorithm" was and that players would lose in the long run. He also knew that he earned his salary by relying on the players' losses, but he believed that as long as there was no reform at the government level or real open supervision, private casinos would always be closely watched.

"The issue is not whether gambling itself is right or wrong, but who can operate legally and who can reap the benefits."

As the Philippines is cracking down on online casinos recently, Nick feels it is time to quit the industry. But he does not think that these crackdowns can eradicate online gambling. As long as the profits are attractive enough and the player market is large enough, these casinos can always move locations and change their operating methods to continue to make money, and they will never really disappear.

Summarize

Nick's experience allows us to peek into the true face of the online gaming industry in Southeast Asia: under the guise of high technology, the operation structure is sophisticated and the division of labor is clear, but at the same time it is on the edge of illegality. Employees enjoy generous salaries and transnational connections, but they have to bear a certain degree of risk and ethical controversy. In this seemingly gorgeous world, the so-called "sense of reality" is often a carefully packaged illusion. As Nick said, these illusions may be rare great opportunities in his and others' lives, although they must continue to test the dangerous area on the edge of the law.

"The house always wins." This may sound cliché, but it is the core truth of how online casinos work. Even if someone wants to stop it by rectifying or banning it, it will only force casinos to turn to a more secretive and international way of operation. No matter where there is gambling, there will be people betting and people will continue to open tables. Whoever truly controls the gambling market will continue to win.