It didn’t take long for a sudden surge in online gambling operators in Cambodia to be seen as more of an unwelcome plague than a new economic instrument. Partly due to an inability to follow rules and partly due to outside interference, the entire industry was shut down by the Cambodian government at the end of 2019.
Of course, there will be those who defy the country’s order and still continue to operate, but they’ll be looking at severe punishment if caught. According to one senior police official, these individuals will be branded “gangsters” and will incur the full wrath of the police force.
To these individuals, the national police force makes its position clear. According to a spokesperson for the force, Chhay Kim Khoeun, “The National Police chief had made it clear that any individual or group who defies the order is to be considered as gangsters.”
It’s been a tumultuous ride for Cambodia and online gambling operators. 2019 was especially full of ups and downs as the town of Sihanoukville quickly became the epicenter of gambling operators looking to capture a piece of the action, both online and in brick-and-mortar venues. All the movement wasn’t without controversy, however, since many of those being employed were brought in from outside the country and concerns over raw sewage disposal and shoddy construction began to surface.
When Cambodia began to crack down on the activity, many operators, the majority of whom were from China, took the hint and began to leave. Others were willing to hang on until the last possible moment in order to squeeze every dime out of their business. With the online gaming industry now officially dead in the country, though, there are bound to be those who will tempt fate and who will continue to operate, essentially waiting for the long arm of the law to swoop in.
The end of 2019 brought with it the end to legal online gambling in Cambodia. The country is not going to issue any new licenses for the activity, nor will it renew any existing licenses. In addition to the fact that operators were bending or breaking a number of rules, China, which prohibits gambling, exerted a great amount of pressure on the country to convince it to change its ways. Perhaps if the operators had used a little common sense they could have flown under the radar and the industry would have been allowed to develop.
