The General Secretariat of the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC) issued new guidelines for casino operators on 20th October 2022 due to various crackdowns on illegal gambling and gaming operations across the whole country.

The government and police have been targeting illegal gaming and gambling operations in Cambodia as they are bringing bad publicity due to a lot of scams happening to locals and tourists. Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng have both pressed on this matter and asked the authorities to take action.

The guidelines were made to ensure proper casino operations were to be followed according to the law and standard documents relevant to the management of commercial gambling.

The CGMC said, “The guidelines aim to crack down on all illegal gambling activities and gambling dens and to promote legal commercial gambling.” New guidelines are also there to protect the rights of legitimate casino operators.

CGMA has also instructed casino operators and owners to renew their licenses to continue to operate saying, “The casino operators or owners have to display the original licenses or the certificate of legality in a visible place in their business locations. In cases where they use a copy of the license or the certificate at another location, it will be deemed fraudulent and they will face legal action.”

According to the new guidelines, casino operators will now have to pay taxes on the proceeds of all kinds of games operating within the casino premises and on time under law and regulation.

The issue of illegal gambling and online illegal gambling are also tied to other serious offenses in the country like human trafficking which is also why the prime minister and minister of the interior have issued these new changes in hopes of regulating the casino and gambling sector in Cambodia.