Prime Minister Hun Manet praised authorities and the armed forces for their efforts at the plenary session of the Council of Ministers on April 23 and ordered the crackdown on online scams to continue without pause1. The government rejected suggestions that operations would slow during or after the Khmer New Year holiday, saying enforcement would continue rigorously1.
The Royal Government Spokesperson Unit said that from July last year to mid-April 2026, authorities in Phnom Penh and the provinces cracked down on more than 250 online scam locations, leading to the closure of 91 casino sites serving as fronts for illicit activities1. During the same period, 112 cases involving 1,089 suspects were filed with the courts, with the accused including Cambodians and foreigners from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Singapore1.
The government said that from early last year to April 19, Cambodia deported 13,039 foreign nationals linked to online scams, including 1,509 women, representing 33 nationalities1. Since the start of the year, 241,888 individuals have voluntarily departed Cambodia, including citizens of China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan1.
Recent operations cited include a joint task force raid in Phnom Penh that arrested about 40 foreign suspects in Veal Vong commune, Prampi Makara district, on April 24, and a police seizure of computers used for online scams in Stung Meanchey III commune, Meanchey district, on April 211.
The government listed several legal instruments behind the campaign, including the Law on Combatting Online Scams, the "XXL" campaign to eliminate online scams, a sub-decree on safety and security management in concentrated residential areas, and an inter-ministerial regulation on fines for owners or managers of such areas1.
Justice Minister Koeut Rith said the anti-scam law should not be viewed only in terms of crime and security1.
"As I have previously mentioned at this meeting, this law will create five additional criminal offenses with heavier penalties. It will also establish special legal procedures to better address scam-related crimes."
Rith said Cambodia is also a victim of scam crimes because foreign criminals have used its territory to commit scams while the victims are overseas, and that after the current campaign ends the law will help ensure such scams do not return1.
What it means for players
The figures cover scam operations rather than licensed gambling, but the closure of 91 casino sites described as fronts for illicit activities1 means some venues that presented themselves as casinos are no longer operating. Anyone in Cambodia who is offered gambling through an online platform, an app or a casino-linked agent has no way to confirm from these figures whether that operation is licensed or was among those shut down. The deportations and voluntary departures involved 33 nationalities and citizens of China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan1, so foreign nationals present in Cambodia face a higher chance of being questioned about their work and travel. General guidance on identifying fake sites, rigged games and scam compounds, and on how to report them, is set out in Gambling Scams and Safety in Asia. Rules on where gambling is permitted in the region are covered in the guides to Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
What happens next
The Law on Combatting Online Scams will create five additional criminal offenses with heavier penalties and establish special legal procedures for scam-related crimes, according to the Justice Minister1. The government said enforcement would continue rigorously through and after the Khmer New Year holiday1. No date has been reported for when the current campaign will end or when the new offenses take effect.
