Laos Ends Gambling in Boten

Laos is ending gambling in the former casino enclave of Boten on the Chinese border because of worries about crime, according to a government media statement.

"There has been speculation over criminal activity in the gambling town, which forced the government to close the casino," the Vientiane Times reported, without saying when the casino in "Golden City" was shut down.

Boten emerged as a gambling center over recent years, with the casino and a number of pastel-colored hotels springing up to cater to Chinese clientele, often working on infrastructure projects in the area.

Gambling is illegal in China, except in Macau.

The Laos government decided to act when the project's developer began looking into selling the venture to another Chinese investor, the Vientiane Times said.

The new investors will not operate a casino in the area, the report said, but will instead develop the area into "a tourism destination," it said.

The decision will not affect another casino in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, which is on the border of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.

China's widespread presence in Laos, a landlocked communist country of about six million people, has raised increasing local concern despite bringing much needed foreign investment.

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