Cambodia bans online gambling

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has a message for for both licensed and black market online gambling operators working in his country, your business is not welcome here. Late last week, Sen issued a directive ordering an end to the licensing of new online casinos and the shuttering of existing operations, which he deemed as a threat to social order.
In his directive, as reported on in the Bankok Post Sen was very direct saying, “The Royal Government of Cambodia will stop the issuance of online gambling policy and licenses, both within and outside of the Kingdom of Cambodia, from the date of signing this directive. Some foreign criminals have taken refuge in the form of this gambling to cheat and extort money from victims, domestic and abroad, which affect the security, public order and social order.”
The “foreign criminals” Sen is referring to are likely the same Chinese investors who have been building Cambodia into a hub of the Asian/Southeast Asian gaming market. Over the past few years, Chinese-backed online gambling ventures have popped up all over Cambodia, but especially in the southern coastal city of Sihanoukville. According to a report on CalvinAyre.com, Cambodia has issued more than 163 gaming licenses to online gambling operators, most of which are Chinese operations.
Cambodia is not the only SE Asian country that’s reconsidering its relationship with Chinese online gambling operators. In the Philippines, an influx of Chinese operations has been the center of a raging controversy regarding the role of foreign operators and their employees in the local business scene, and whether or not those operations are fronts for criminal activities.