Cambodia is expanding its campaign against cyber-scam networks to licensed casinos, with authorities warning that some legitimate gambling businesses may be concealing online fraud and illegal gambling operations.
Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith said the government’s next phase would focus on casinos suspected of operating as fronts for cybercrime. Authorities plan stronger inspections and tighter controls over licensed establishments as the crackdown moves beyond large physical scam compounds.
Cambodia says all 195 licensed casinos in the country have already been examined as part of the wider enforcement campaign.
Proposal for Conducting Cyber Crisis Drill, Tabletop Exercise (TTEx) & CCMP Readiness Exercise
Casinos come under scrutiny after scam-compound raids
Speaking on the sidelines of an anti-scam conference in Phnom Penh, Chhay Sinarith said licensed businesses could still use their legal status to conceal criminal operations.
He said authorities therefore needed stronger management and inspection systems at casino sites.
Casinos have become an important part of Cambodia’s cybercrime problem because some properties were allegedly repurposed into online scam compounds after the country’s gambling and tourism industries were disrupted.
A surge of Chinese investment more than a decade ago helped finance casinos, hotels, condominiums and resorts in several Cambodian cities.
After Cambodia banned most online gambling and the COVID-19 pandemic sharply reduced tourism, criminal organisations allegedly began using some of those properties for large-scale online fraud operations.
Workers inside such compounds have been accused of carrying out investment scams, romance fraud and other online schemes targeting victims worldwide.
All 195 licensed casinos have faced inspections
Cambodian authorities say the crackdown has already included inspections of every licensed casino in the country.
Official figures released in August said authorities examined 195 casinos during a year-long campaign and took regulatory action against establishments linked to online fraud. The same campaign involved investigations at hundreds of suspected scam locations across Cambodia.
Official figures on the exact number of casino licences revoked or suspended have varied between different government updates.
An August government report said 20 licences had been revoked and 29 suspended, while a September update said 18 licences had been revoked and another nine suspended pending further investigation.
That discrepancy means the safest conclusion is that dozens of licensed casino operations have faced regulatory action during the crackdown, rather than treating either number as the definitive current total.
Cambodia is also preparing tighter requirements for casino licensing and renewal, while casino-based online gambling is expected to face further restrictions.
Prince Group network becomes major financial target
The crackdown is now moving beyond raids and casino licences into corporate ownership and financial flows.
Chhay Sinarith said investigators are actively examining around 30 subsidiaries linked to Prince Group, the Cambodian conglomerate that has faced allegations of involvement in large-scale scam operations.
Authorities are also examining assets and corporate interests connected to the network in jurisdictions including Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Prince Group chairman Chen Zhi, who has been accused by authorities of involvement in cyber-scam operations, was arrested in Cambodia and transferred to China in January.
The United States has separately imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on people and entities connected to Prince Group.
On September 21, the US State Department announced visa restrictions on 32 individuals, most of them linked to Prince Group or associated entities, over alleged involvement in cyber-enabled fraud targeting Americans.
Those actions are separate from Cambodia’s domestic investigations.
Investigators shift focus to money laundering
Cambodian authorities say shutting down a physical scam compound does not necessarily dismantle the financial network behind it.
Investigators are therefore examining company ownership structures, subsidiaries, cross-border transactions and legitimate businesses that may have been used to move or disguise criminal proceeds.
Chhay Sinarith said illicit funds are often laundered through apparently legitimate companies, making financial investigations essential to dismantling the organisations behind cyber fraud.
That marks a significant shift in the crackdown.
Instead of focusing only on buildings where scam operations take place, authorities are increasingly examining who owns the businesses, where the money moves and which companies may be supporting the network.
Human trafficking remains a major concern
Cyber-scam compounds in Southeast Asia have also become closely connected to human trafficking.
Thousands of people from across Asia and other regions have reported being recruited with promises of legitimate jobs before being forced to conduct online scams.
Cambodian authorities say more than 21,000 foreign nationals from dozens of countries were rescued or processed for repatriation during the latest enforcement campaign.
Human Rights Watch has urged Cambodia to improve screening of people released from scam centres so trafficking victims are not incorrectly treated as offenders.
The organisation has also called for independent investigations into politically connected individuals and prominent business figures alleged to have links to scam compounds.
The next phase of Cambodia’s crackdown will therefore test whether authorities can go beyond closing individual sites and disrupt the legal, financial and corporate structures that allow scam networks to reappear elsewhere.
What this means for you: Cambodia’s crackdown matters beyond its borders because many scam compounds target victims internationally. Stronger casino oversight and financial investigations could disrupt some networks, but the long-term impact will depend on whether operators, money flows and trafficking networks are dismantled rather than simply displaced.
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