Poipet ( ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

on the

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

n– Thai

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

, in Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province. It is a key crossing point between the two countries, and also extremely popular as a gambling destination as

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

is popular, but mostly illegal in Thailand. Poipet is adjacent to the town of Aranyaprathet on the Thai side of the border. The town came into existence only quite recently for the express purpose of border trade; Sisophon had always been the primary urban center in what had been an agricultural area. Poipet's population has increased from 43,366 in the 1998 census to 89,549 in the 2008 census, making it the fourth most populous settlement in Cambodia just ahead of Sihanoukville and larger than its provincial capital Sisophon. During the Pol Pot Era, Poipet was the first place in Cambodia for International Relief Organisations, to support the nearby Thai Border Camps. UN staff were able to freely cross the Border. In the years since 2008, Poipet has continued to boom both as a large Town but as a key gateway from and to Thailand.

Transport

The Poipet border is a terminus of the Cambodia railway system, though in 2006 restoring of a link from Poipet to the present Cambodian Railways railhead at Sisophon was proposed. In the fall of 2008, an agreement was prepared to have an Australian company carry out this work. In 2009, Thailand passed legislation to extend the railway from Aranyaprathet to Poipet, and in 2018 the railway line has been reactivated. On 22 December 2022, Prime Minister

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

said that the government has been conducting studies on high-speed railways connecting domestically and to neighbouring countries. “We are conducting studies on high-speed railways connecting Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province and to the border with Thailand.”

Demography

Poipet is a city famous for its

and

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

center in Cambodia. This attracts many foreigners to come here. The largest number of foreigners here are

Indonesians Indonesians (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''orang Indonesia'') are citizens or people who are identified with the country of Indonesia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. There are more than Ethnic groups in Indonesia, 1,300 ...

, most of whom work in casinos and as online gambling admins. Indonesian restaurants and food stalls are easy to find here. Then also Chinese (8,000 people) and Thai citizens can be found here.

Casinos in the city

There is a strip of

s and hotels between the Cambodian and Thai passport control counters, enabling Thais and other foreigners to gamble in Cambodia without needing to go through Cambodian immigration. In Cambodia, gambling is illegal for Cambodian citizens but not for holders of foreign passports. There is another border on the Cambodian side of this strip area that one needs to pass before being free to travel within the rest of the country. On 28 December 2022, a fire at the Grand Diamond City Hotel and Casino killed 27 people and injured dozens of others.

Gallery

Image:Border crossing cambodia.jpg, Poipet border crossing into

Image:Khmerevening.JPG, Poipet during sunset Image:Poipet..JPG, Casino and street scape

References

{{coord, 13, 39, N, 102, 34, E, region:KH_type:city, display=title Cambodia–Thailand border crossings Cities in Cambodia Ou Chrov District Populated places in Banteay Meanchey province Territorial disputes of Cambodia Territorial disputes of Thailand Scam centers