24 casinos in Cambodia shut down online gambling services ahead of deadline

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Cambodia’s casino cleanup moves from policy to enforcement

Cambodia’s order for 24 casinos to shut down online gambling services before a Sept. 30 deadline is the latest step in a yearslong attempt to separate the country’s licensed casino industry from the online betting and cyber-fraud networks that grew around it. The immediate action targets services including live-streamed games, online lotteries, football betting and other remote wagering products. It also signals that regulators are no longer relying only on broad bans or public warnings, but are moving through casino premises, checking equipment and involving courts and provincial authorities.

The enforcement comes as Cambodia prepares for a wider October prohibition on live-dealer streaming from casinos, a measure that will narrow one of the remaining legal channels through which casino-based gambling content could reach foreign players. The shutdowns were verified by the Commission for Combating Technology-Enabled Scams, provincial officials and the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia, underscoring how gambling oversight has become part of a larger national security and crime-control campaign.

Online gambling boom left a lasting crime problem

The roots of the current crackdown trace to Cambodia’s decision to allow online gaming during the second half of the 2010s. That period drew large inflows of foreign capital, especially to Sihanoukville, where casinos, apartments and commercial developments multiplied quickly. The business model depended heavily on serving gamblers outside Cambodia, including Chinese nationals, even as gambling remained illegal in mainland China.

By 2019, crime concerns had overtaken the sector’s economic promise. Authorities banned new online gaming licenses and ordered existing operations to close from Jan. 1, 2020. The reversal triggered a collapse in parts of the real estate market and left behind vacant buildings and business structures that later became associated with online scams, illegal detention and transnational fraud.

Prime Minister Hun Manet has since drawn a direct line between the earlier gambling boom and the country’s later cybercrime challenge. At an international anti-scam conference, he said online gaming and casino-related businesses contributed to Cambodia’s early exposure to scam networks, while also stressing that the industry did not originate in Cambodia and was not confined to the country. His comments, covered in Cambodia’s account of how casino growth helped seed online scam problems, framed the crackdown as both a domestic regulatory issue and a regional law-enforcement priority.

Live-dealer streaming became the next pressure point

After the 2020 online gambling ban, Cambodia’s gambling law still allowed licensed land-based casinos to provide live-streamed gaming as an add-on for foreign players. That carveout became increasingly difficult for authorities to monitor. Interior Minister Sar Sokha said investigations found gambling was being livestreamed from casinos and that oversight challenges justified a suspension from October.

The planned ban, described in Cambodia’s move to end live-dealer streaming from casinos, matters because live-dealer products can blur the distinction between physical casino operations and remote online gambling. Dealers and tables may be located inside a licensed venue, while the customers, payment flows and marketing networks sit outside Cambodia. That structure creates openings for unlicensed agents, illegal betting platforms and fraud groups to exploit casino infrastructure.

For regulators, the October measure closes a loophole that survived the 2020 ban. For operators, it removes a potentially lucrative revenue stream at a time when casino license renewals are already under greater scrutiny. The Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia is preparing a new framework for evaluating license renewals, meaning compliance with anti-scam and anti-online-gambling rules is likely to become central to whether casinos can keep operating.

Fraud networks raised the stakes for Phnom Penh

The casino crackdown is also shaped by the reputational damage caused by fraud compounds, illegal online betting platforms and allegations of forced labor in scam operations. Cambodia has reported clearing more than 600 locations linked to technology-enabled scams and has revoked or suspended multiple casino licenses. Officials have said large-scale scam compounds have been eliminated, though investigations into casino-linked operations continue.

High-profile criminal cases have reinforced the connection between gambling infrastructure and fraud networks. Chinese authorities have pursued cases tied to Chen Zhi, the Cambodian businessman accused of overseeing online gambling and scam operations. In one development, China confirmed the extradition from Cambodia of Liu Ren, a figure linked to a Chen-associated network alleged to have run online gambling platforms targeting Chinese residents and later managed telecom-fraud compounds. The case, detailed in the extradition of a Chen Zhi-linked figure from Cambodia to China, illustrated how casino-adjacent networks became targets of cross-border policing.

Chen himself has faced widening scrutiny. Chinese authorities detained him after cooperation with Phnom Penh, while U.S. prosecutors alleged he oversaw online gambling platforms and large-scale scams from Cambodia’s coast. Coverage of Chen Zhi’s detention over online gambling and fraud allegations showed the extent to which Cambodian-linked gambling cases have become entangled with international fraud, money laundering and sanctions concerns.

Regional pressure is reinforcing domestic action

Cambodia’s enforcement push is not occurring in isolation. Cyber fraud has become a regional and global priority as scam compounds move across borders, recruit victims through social platforms and use cryptocurrency and payment intermediaries to move money. The United Nations, Interpol and China have all pressed for stronger cooperation, reflecting concern that criminal groups relocate when one jurisdiction tightens enforcement.

The global scale of the problem is visible in consumer-loss estimates outside Asia. A recent Consumer Federation of America report estimated Americans lost $148.2 billion to online scams and crimes in 2025, including $80.7 billion tied to crypto scams. Coverage of the estimated $80.7 billion cost of crypto scams to Americans highlighted how online fraud has moved well beyond traditional gambling enforcement and into financial crime, digital advertising and cryptocurrency regulation.

For Cambodia, that broader context raises the cost of inaction. Scam compounds have drawn scrutiny from China, Western governments and international organizations, while undermining confidence in legitimate investment and tourism. The government’s public campaign allows Phnom Penh to show foreign partners it is not merely closing illegal websites, but also inspecting licensed casinos, removing equipment and threatening operators with license action.

Casino operators face a narrower future

The latest shutdowns suggest Cambodia is moving toward a more restrictive casino model focused on land-based gambling under closer supervision. Operators that once relied on online extensions, livestreamed tables or loosely monitored foreign-facing betting products now face a regulatory environment in which those activities can invite inspections, license suspensions or criminal investigations.

The stakes extend beyond the 24 casinos that ended online services. Authorities have said monitoring will continue at those properties and other gambling sites, and the October live-dealer ban will test whether operators can adapt before regulators escalate penalties. The campaign also gives enforcement agencies a framework to distinguish compliant casinos from those used as cover for online betting or fraud.

Cambodia’s challenge is to maintain a legal casino industry while proving it can prevent that industry from serving as infrastructure for transnational crime. The shutdowns are therefore more than a deadline exercise. They are part of a broader effort to rebuild regulatory credibility after a boom that brought fast investment, criminal exploitation and lasting international scrutiny.