Cambodia's Minister of Interior Sar Kheng instructed law enforcement teams to crack down on theft, robbery, illegal gambling and other crimes to ensure security, the Khmer Times reported on September 13, 2022. He said the three main goals for authorities are rescuing victims, prosecuting perpetrators or traffickers, and cracking down on illegal gambling, especially online1.
Ros Phearun, secretary general of the Cambodian Gambling Management Committee at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, told local authorities they have the right to shut down illegal gambling units at cafes and shops because the committee does not issue licenses to run them1. He said the committee is identifying different kinds of illegal games to make it easier for relevant ministries and local authorities to stop them early, and noted that only 60 casinos hold gambling licenses out of 140 casinos operating in the country1.
"Minister of Interior Sar Kheng instructed law enforcement teams to crack down on theft, robbery, illegal gambling, and other crimes to ensure security"
Under Cambodian law, gambling is allowed only for foreigners and only at licensed casinos. Citizens are not allowed to run gambling centers and are banned from all forms of gambling, including online gambling1. General Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said authorities had cooperated with local people several times to arrest and educate perpetrators, but that online cockfighting, playing cards, and Cambodian and Vietnamese lotteries remain rampant1. He said most illegal gambling takes place at the commune level and that public cooperation in reporting locations could help shut it down1.
The report cited residents' concerns. Ham Chhorvy, a resident of Kampong Speu province, urged the provincial administration to eliminate all forms of gambling, saying many people are drowning in debt and crime is rising1. Tep Ratha, 52, a resident of Phnom Penh, said online gambling is widespread and cafes are full of players from morning to evening, most of them motorbike taxi drivers1.
What it means for players
Cambodia's licensed casino floors remain open to foreign passport holders, and the report gives no indication that licensed venues face new restrictions1. The enforcement push targets unlicensed operations, including gambling at cafes and shops, and online gambling, which the report describes as banned for Cambodian citizens1. For visitors and expats, the practical dividing line in the report is license status and nationality: gambling is permitted only for foreigners at licensed casinos, and the 80 unlicensed casinos counted in the report are outside that permission1. The report does not state how enforcement will treat foreign nationals using online gambling services, and no penalty figures or named enforcement targets have been reported1.
What happens next
The report describes no dated timetable. It says the gambling management committee is identifying categories of illegal games to help ministries and local authorities act, and that local authorities have been told they can shut down illegal gambling units at cafes and shops1. Sar Kheng's instruction names online gambling as the priority for the crackdown1.
For background on how Cambodia's rules compare with its neighbors, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions and Is Online Gambling Legal in Asia? The 12 Jurisdictions Compared. The report follows a pattern of regional enforcement covered in Crackdowns on Offshore Online Gambling Hubs in Asia, and country-specific detail is in Can I Gamble in Cambodia?.
Sources1 sources
- Authorities tighten noose around illegal gambling, khmertimeskh.com
