Phnom Penh Municipal Police worked with district authorities to crack down on 28 cases of gambling on the night of September 17, 2022, arresting 52 people and confiscating a large number of slot machines and other gambling related equipment, municipal police spokesman San Sok Seiha said1. The operations took place in Boeung Keng Kang, Kamboul, Toul Kork, Russey Keo and Chroy Changva districts1.
Of the 28 cases, 25 were Vietnamese lottery businesses that were shut down, with 33 people arrested including 20 women, and authorities confiscated four motorcycles, 20 mobile phones and other items1. The other three cases involved online football betting, including two that led to the arrest of three people in Chbar Ampov and two in Sen Sok, for a total of 16 people arrested1.
The raids followed an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen on September 17 to city and provincial governors to take effective measures against gambling nationwide1. He warned he would fire any provincial or capital governors, district governors or police officers found responsible for illegal gambling or taking bribes and shirking their obligations1.
"I understand that advertisements for illegal gambling are not displayed up in the sky or anywhere other than at locations in the provinces, districts, communes and villages. So, there would almost be no need for any national intervention if provincial governors would take responsibility for their territories and let loose their police forces with orders to crack down on all gambling sites"
A later account gave larger figures for Phnom Penh. Colonel San Sok Seiha told Khmer Times that the Phnom Penh Municipal Unity Command cracked down on a total of 63 gambling crimes and arrested 115 people in 4 districts in Phnom Penh over four days from September 17 to 202. Those raids included the following2:
- 35 cases of Vietnamese lottery2
- 4 cases of online game machines2
- 3 cases of poker2
- 10 cases of online gambling2
- 7 cases of lottery2
- 4 pawn shops2
The two outlets report different totals because they cover different stretches of time: the smaller count of 28 cases and 52 arrests comes from a single night, while the larger count of 63 cases and 115 arrests spans four days, September 17 to 20.
The crackdown extended beyond the capital. In Kandal province, Governor Kong Sophoan led a raid in Sangkat Takdol, Takhmao City, on the night of September 20, after which 72 Chinese nationals were detained, 16 of them without valid documents2. In Koh Kong province, more than 80 foreigners were arrested at the Thantai Guesthouse in Village 3, Sangkat Smach Meanchey, on the afternoon of September 21, in a crackdown on suspected online gambling crimes2. Koh Kong Provincial Prosecutor Ros Saram said he was still searching for the ringleaders of a group of 82 migrants, 28 of them women, most of them Indonesians staying at the guesthouse2. Of 86 people, seven Vietnamese lacked sufficient passports and documents and were sent to the provincial police commission to build a case2. Across Cambodia, police arrested more than 150 foreigners in targeted raids on September 212.
What it means for players
The raids targeted unlicensed operations: Vietnamese lottery outlets, online football betting, online gambling, poker, game machines and pawn shops1. Cambodia's licensed casino sector is a separate matter; see Can I Gamble in Cambodia? for how legal and illegal gambling are divided, and Slot Machines and Electronic Games in Cambodia for where electronic gaming is permitted. The arrests included foreign nationals, among them Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese people, some without valid documents2. Hun Sen's warning that officials would be fired for tolerating illegal gambling1 indicates enforcement pressure on local authorities rather than a change in the law itself. The legal status of those detained has not been reported.
What happens next
Hun Sen said measures must be taken strictly and without further intervention from the prime minister or the interior minister1. Kandal's deputy governor, Nop Dara, said the raided location was temporarily closed and that he was not sure about the legal restrictions on the Chinese detained, as authorities were not yet working on the matter2. No court dates or charges have been reported. For the wider legal picture across the region, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions.
