No.01 - 10/2006
5 October 2006
Drugs
 

Mongla casinos closed again

 
Gaming houses from Mongla that had been transferred to Wan Sieo, 16 miles away from the Sino-Burma border through Chinese pressure have been ordered to close again, according to sources from Kengtung.

They had only been in operation since March. The official opening by Mongla's boss Lin Mingxien aka Sai Leun took place on 27 April.
No reason has been given for the closure on 22 September. However the closure last year of those in Mongla was ordered by Chinese authorities reportedly to stop state officials from gambling away state funds there.

The new casinos in Wan Sieo are said to have one advantage over the old ones in Mongla: gamblers in China no longer need to travel across the border. They can just bet through a live video coming through the internet.
 
"I hope the ban stays put," says one local monk. "Many villagers have gone down in debts and the youth think of nothing except gambling since the casinos were opened in March."