Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a strict order on September 17, 2022 for all relevant officials, especially sub-national officials, to crack down on all kinds of illegal gambling1. The order followed a government decision dated September 16 that formed a national working group to combat illegal gambling, made at the request of the Ministry of Interior2.
The working group has 12 members and is led by Interior Ministry secretary of state Sok Phall2. It is tasked with planning and principle strategies and can give instructions to authorities to implement measures against illegal gambling, and it can investigate human trafficking, labor exploitation, sex trafficking and money laundering connected to casinos or illegal gambling2. Hun Sen said enforcement depends on local authorities rather than the national body2.
"I've issued an absolute order to combat these crimes in a timely manner and without exception. I will not hesitate to depose a provincial or capital governor or district governor or police official at any level, who does not responsibly do their job. We cannot let this anarchic situation continue."
The Khmer Times reported that law enforcement inspected more than 10,000 suspected locations nationwide from September 15 until October 13, 20221. National Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Chhay Kim Khoeun said police took legal measures at 127 locations in 11 capitals and provinces, collecting evidence to send 273 people to court, including 56 foreigners1. He said 10,010 other locations were educated, instructed and contracted in case they are found in violation of the law, and about 13,000 people were contracted for re-education1.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Locations inspected (Sept 15 to Oct 13, 2022) | More than 10,0001 |
| Locations where legal measures were taken | 127, in 11 capitals and provinces1 |
| People sent to court | 273, including 56 foreigners1 |
| Locations educated and contracted | 10,0101 |
| People contracted for re-education | About 13,0001 |
Phnom Penh Municipal Police said they worked with district authorities on 28 gambling cases on the night of September 17, arresting 52 people and confiscating slot machines and other equipment3. In that operation, 25 Vietnamese lottery businesses were shut down and 33 people, including 20 women, were arrested, with four motorcycles and 20 mobile phones confiscated3. Three other cases involved online football betting, with 16 people arrested in total3. Operations took place in Boeung Keng Kang, Kamboul, Toul Kork, Russey Keo and Chroy Changva3.
On October 4, the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia held a workshop in Phnom Penh on the Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling, attended by about 200 judges, prosecutors and police chiefs4. Sok Phal said authorities had shut down about 90 percent of all illegal gambling in the country, with Preah Sihanouk province the primary focus4. The People's Centre for Development and Peace president Yong Kim Eng said crackdowns required transparency and equal enforcement, and raised concern that some illegal operations had officials running or benefiting from them4.
What it means for players
Cambodia's gambling laws distinguish licensed commercial gambling from illegal operations, and the September 2022 order targeted the latter. The crackdown covered lottery outlets, cockfighting, online football betting and gambling hidden inside cafes and noodle shops2. Hun Sen also called on local businesses to stop providing gambling services or face permanent shutdown2. The order did not change the legal status of licensed casinos, and no source reports any change to the rules for licensed venues. Visitors and residents using unlicensed operators, including offshore sites, face the enforcement described above; the legal position of offshore gambling sites is set out separately. For a general overview of what is legal, see Can I Gamble in Cambodia?.
What happens next
The national working group, formed by decision No. 62 dated September 16, continues to plan and issue guidance to authorities at all levels4. Hun Sen said he would remove provincial or capital governors, district governors or police officials who do not carry out the order2. No end date for the operations has been reported.
Sources4 sources
- Over 10,000 locations raided so far in anti-illegal gambling crackdown, khmertimeskh.com
- PM calls on all Cambodians to give up all forms of gambling, forms national working group to combat illegal gambling - Phnom Penh Post, phnompenhpost.com
- Civil society supportive of new gambling crackdown as PM orders officials to act - Phnom Penh Post, phnompenhpost.com
- Commission hold workshop to explain gambling laws - Phnom Penh Post, phnompenhpost.com
