Cambodia to completely outlaw online gambling
Cambodia’s casinos could face legal action if they do not halt their online gambling operations by January 1, 2020, according to a government spokesman as he country remains firm to completely outlaw the business and all the current licenses expire.
On December 25, VOA Cambodia quoted finance ministry official Ros Phearun as saying that government officials would conduct inspections of local casino operators to ensure they are complying with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s August directive to rescind all online gambling licenses by the end of 2019.
While there were speculations floating around that the country would make some concessions and will come up with some sort of relaxation for online gambling licenses, Hun Sen put an end to all such wishful thinking.
He confirmed that “in days to come, online gambling will completely disappear.” The directive issued August I declared that no new online licenses would be issued and that existing licenses would not be renewed when they expire at the end of this year. Hun Sen noted that online gambling in Cambodia has been more of a burden than an advantage and has put the country at risk of increased money laundering activities and has also led to increased gambling-related crimes.
Many of the new casino licenses issued over the past two years have been for Chinese-run operations in Sihanoukville. Casinos there will be closely monitored to ensure they have shut their online operations.
Currently, there are 141 active casinos in Cambodia, down from 163 in June – a possible reflection of the exodus of Chinese operators following August’s directive – of which 89 were operating online gambling and arcade machines. Some 72 casinos are believed to be officially operating in Sihanoukville alone.
Cambodia’s casinos could face legal action if they do not halt their online gambling operations by January 1, 2020, according to a government spokesman as he country remains firm to completely outlaw the business and all the current licenses expire. On December 25, VOA Cambodia quoted finance ministry official Ros Phearun as saying that government officials would conduct inspections of local casino operators to ensure they are complying with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s August directive to rescind all online gambling licenses by the end of 2019. While there were speculations floating around that the country would make some concessions and...
Cambodia’s casinos could face legal action if they do not halt their online gambling operations by January 1, 2020, according to a government spokesman as he country remains firm to completely outlaw the business and all the current licenses expire.
On December 25, VOA Cambodia quoted finance ministry official Ros Phearun as saying that government officials would conduct inspections of local casino operators to ensure they are complying with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s August directive to rescind all online gambling licenses by the end of 2019.
While there were speculations floating around that the country would make some concessions and will come up with some sort of relaxation for online gambling licenses, Hun Sen put an end to all such wishful thinking.
He confirmed that “in days to come, online gambling will completely disappear.” The directive issued August I declared that no new online licenses would be issued and that existing licenses would not be renewed when they expire at the end of this year. Hun Sen noted that online gambling in Cambodia has been more of a burden than an advantage and has put the country at risk of increased money laundering activities and has also led to increased gambling-related crimes.
Many of the new casino licenses issued over the past two years have been for Chinese-run operations in Sihanoukville. Casinos there will be closely monitored to ensure they have shut their online operations.
Currently, there are 141 active casinos in Cambodia, down from 163 in June – a possible reflection of the exodus of Chinese operators following August’s directive – of which 89 were operating online gambling and arcade machines. Some 72 casinos are believed to be officially operating in Sihanoukville alone.
