Cambodia's Casino Inspections Uncover Ties to Online Fraud Networks

Cambodia's government carried out a nationwide inspection of all 195 licensed casinos between June 2025 and June 2026 as part of its one-year crackdown targeting online scam operations, and the effort produced detailed findings that officials presented during a July 24 Cabinet meeting.

Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith submitted the report outlining the results of those checks, which identified 72 casinos connected to online fraud activities, and the government responded by revoking 19 licenses while suspending 30 others, with an additional 23 casinos stopping operations once their licenses expired naturally.

Scope of the Inspection Process

Officials examined every licensed casino across the country during this period, and the process focused on uncovering any involvement in online scam networks that have drawn international attention in recent years; authorities coordinated the reviews to assess compliance with existing regulations while gathering evidence on operational links to fraudulent schemes.

Data collected during the sweeps showed clear patterns of association in those 72 facilities, and regulators documented the specific violations that triggered the subsequent license actions, which included immediate revocations for the most serious cases along with temporary suspensions that halted activities at 30 locations.

Actions Taken Following the Findings

Prime Minister Hun Manet reviewed the submitted report at the July 24 Cabinet meeting and characterized the outcomes as a major step forward in the ongoing efforts against online scams, and the actions taken reflect a systematic approach that combined license enforcement with broader enforcement measures.

Alongside the casino-specific results, authorities conducted raids on 737 scam centers during the same one-year period, and those operations led to the deportation of more than 21,100 individuals connected to the fraudulent activities, demonstrating the coordinated scale of the crackdown across multiple fronts.

The combination of license revocations, suspensions, and natural expirations reduced the number of operational casinos tied to scam operations, and observers note that these steps occurred within the structured timeline of the June 2025 to June 2026 initiative without disrupting the overall regulatory framework for legitimate gaming establishments.

Context of the One-Year Crackdown

The inspection formed one component of a wider strategy that ran from June 2025 through June 2026, and it addressed concerns about online fraud by targeting physical locations that may have supported digital scam infrastructure; the report presented to the Cabinet detailed how the 72 identified casinos fit into larger networks operating across the region.

Raids on the 737 scam centers occurred in parallel with the casino reviews, and the deportations of over 21,100 people removed key personnel from those operations while the license actions prevented further use of casino facilities for supporting fraudulent enterprises, and figures from the report highlight the interconnected nature of these enforcement activities.

Official Reporting and Next Steps

The report from Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith provided the Cabinet with a comprehensive summary of inspection outcomes, and it included breakdowns of the 19 revocations, 30 suspensions, and 23 expirations that followed the discovery of links to online fraud, and the report emphasized measurable progress in reducing the presence of such operations within the licensed casino sector.

Prime Minister Hun Manet noted the significance of these developments during the July 24 meeting, and the data presented there established benchmarks for continued monitoring of remaining casinos to ensure compliance with anti-fraud regulations moving forward.

Conclusion

The nationwide inspection of Cambodia's 195 licensed casinos produced concrete results that included the identification of 72 facilities linked to online fraud, followed by 19 license revocations, 30 suspensions, and 23 cessations after expiration, and these outcomes emerged from the one-year crackdown that also encompassed raids on 737 scam centers plus the deportation of more than 21,100 individuals, with the full findings delivered in the report to the July 24 Cabinet meeting.