Seven years after Cambodia banned online gambling, Cambodia said it would suspend online gambling starting from next month.
“All kinds of online and arcade gambling … must end by the end of 2019,” the Council of Ministers said in a statement that year, according to the Khmer Times seven years ago. “Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia’s development has to be based on nature and culture tourism, not online gambling.”
Seven years later, on September 6, Interior Minister Sar Sokha said in a speech that online gambling would be suspended.
“Our latest research found that online gambling is being livestreamed from casinos, and it is difficult for us to control the money involved. Therefore, starting in October, it will be suspended for the time being,” Sar Sokha said.
Casinos would have their licenses revoked and face legal action if they continued, he said.
Videos posted online following the announcement showed foreign workers leaving casino compounds in Sihanoukville with their suitcases. Online betting and online scams appear to have coexisted as part of criminal operations across the country linked to violence and human trafficking.
Digital wallet delicensed
The Cambodian National Bank revoked the payment service license of CoolCash, also known as Xiao Yi Pay, and ordered the liquidation of its parent company Tian Xu International Technology, according to the Cambodia-China Times as reported by Kucoin.
The company’s director, Pang Weizhi, and Tianxu were added to the U.K. government’s sanctions list in March due to alleged ties with the Prince Group, or Taizi, it said, adding that the license was originally issued on May 27, 2024.
The U.K. sanctions listing says Pang Weizhi holds Cambodian and Chinese nationalities, and is also known as Pang Visal. He is a director of Tian Xu International Technology and U-Life KH Super App, the parent company of food-delivery app WOWNOW, the sanctions say.
Ongoing raids
In a social media post, Sar Sokha, the interior minister, said large-scale scam operations had been shut down, but small operators continued in secret.
A National Police report said authorities raided 85 scam locations in August, detaining 1,255 suspects of 13 nationalities, according to Bayon TV news.
Recent raids include four suspects — Cambodian and Malaysian — arrested in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district on August 25, and 22 Chinese nationals found to be involved in suspected online scams in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city the same day, both reported by the Koh Santepheap newspaper.
Meanwhile, government news wire AKP said a total of 18 casinos have now had their licenses revoked:
- KHM Paradise Tower Casino & Hotel
- Eagle King Casino
- Orchid Hotel & Rich Casino
- Shang Hai Resort
- Golden Galaxy Casino
- Roxy Hotel & Casino
- Golden Fortune Resorts World Casino (Casino Kchom?)
- Jin Bei
- Jin Bei 4 Casino
- Casino Zhong Huawei Golden Sand International Entertainment
- G.C. Casino
- Da Jin Gang Casino & Hotel
- Gang Dao
- Casino Ying Huang
- Xin Hao Peak Casino
- Jin Yu Man Tang Casino
Bribery details
Sar Sokha noted in his speech of prosecution against 15 officials, including a deputy director of immigration.
The Anti-Corruption Unit detailed the case in June, saying a scam operator “Tony” and his company Morgan James paid a Cambodian-American retired U.S. military officer, currently a Cambodian brigadier general, $10,000 a month for protection. The man, Meas Marin, allegedly gave $6,000 of that per month to immigration deputy director Ouk Heisela.
Ouk Heisela and Meas Marin carried out tasks such as checking travel records at airports and land borders and orchestrating the arrests of Tony’s associates for further payments, the ACU alleged. It had found more than 20 bribery incidents, it said.
Ouk Heisela regularly attended international conferences on security issues, including human trafficking, alongside representatives of the U.N. and foreign states.
Furthermore, a Foreign Affairs Ministry official, Tho Samnang, director of legal, consular and border affairs, and his deputy Nop Ratha allegedly made $3 million from selling visa stickers in connection to scam operations.
Tho Samnang held 375 bank accounts across seven different banks, while Nop Ratha held five accounts across two banks to conceal the money, the ACU said. It had so far traced $980,000 belonging to Tho Samnang and $250,000 belonging to Nop Ratha.
In another case, a scam operator in Poipet paid five police and military officers to prevent the release and extradition of 43 Thai online gaming workers from their compound, the ACU said. The scammers allegedly paid $18,000 per worker, or $774,000 total, to the officers.