Cambodia Online Gambling Ban Explained: What Changed in 2026

Cambodia banned online gambling once already, at the start of 2020. Yet licensed casinos kept streaming live-dealer bets, online football betting and online lotteries to players abroad until 30 September 2026, when Prime Minister Hun Manet’s government ordered every casino in the country to switch it all off. By 1 October, 24 casinos in three provinces had dismantled their streaming equipment. Here is what was banned, why the first ban leaked, what the crackdown numbers say, and what it means if a betting site tells you it is “licensed in Cambodia”.

What exactly did Cambodia ban in October 2026?

On 5 September 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Sokha told a public event in Takeo province that online gambling would be suspended at all casinos nationwide from October, The Cambodia Daily reported. The reason he gave: investigations found that gambling livestreamed from casinos made it hard to track money “whose origins could not be verified”. On 16 September Hun Manet confirmed it himself, saying all online gambling operations would be suspended from early October and calling online gambling “too difficult to regulate” (Xinhua, carried by The Star).

The deadline was 30 September. According to the state news agency AKP, as summarised by Asia Gaming Brief, three things had to stop:

1. Gambling livestreams from casino tables (the proxy betting model, where a remote player bets on a real table through a stream or an agent).
2. Online football betting run from casino premises.
3. Online lotteries run from casino premises.

Officials stressed this is not a casino closure. “The suspension of online gambling does not mean that all casinos will be closed,” The Cambodia Daily reported. Resumption will only be considered after ministries build a legal framework, digital infrastructure and trained staff to supervise it, and no date has been given.

Takeaway: The 2026 order targets the online side of licensed casinos, not the casinos themselves. Breaking it risks licence revocation and legal action.

Wait, wasn’t online gambling already banned in 2019?

Yes, on paper. On 18 August 2019 then-Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a directive that stopped Cambodia granting any new licence to run online gambling “inside and outside Cambodia”, and said existing licences would not be renewed, Inside Asian Gaming reported at the time, citing Xinhua. The directive said some foreigners had used online gambling “to cheat victims inside and outside the country”. The ban took effect at the start of 2020.

The impact was immediate. An estimated 10,000 Chinese nationals left Sihanoukville within days, with one-way flights to China fully booked (IAG, citing the South China Morning Post). By the end of 2019 more than 7,000 Cambodians had lost jobs, and Sihanoukville’s casinos had halved from more than 70 to 36, Gulf News reported on 31 December 2019. Officials put online gambling at about a quarter of an estimated US$80 million in yearly casino taxes.

So why did the 2026 government need a second ban? Because the 2019 rule ended stand-alone online licences, but it did not stop licensed land-based casinos from offering live-dealer streaming to foreign players. Yogonet describes exactly this: online gambling illegal since 1 January 2020, while licensed casinos “had been allowed to offer live-dealer streaming to foreign players”. The Mekong Independent summed it up in its headline: “online gambling banned again”.

Takeaway: 2019 closed the front door (online licences). 2026 closes the side door (online play streamed from licensed casino floors).

Who regulates gambling in Cambodia now?

Cambodia’s main gambling statute is the Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling, signed into law in November 2020: 12 chapters and 97 articles, a gross gaming revenue tax of 4% on VIP play and 7% on mass play, and a map of prohibited, permitted and “favoured” zones, with new integrated resorts limited to the coastal provinces of Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong (IAG). In August 2021 a sub-decree created the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC) as the regulator, followed by rules on game equipment, software and penalties (Rajah & Tann Sok & Heng).

Two rules matter most for anyone outside the industry:

• Cambodians may not gamble. Casino licences exist to attract foreign tourists; domestic law bars Cambodian citizens from gambling (The Star / Xinhua).
• Location is fixed. Apart from NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s casinos sit along international borders (Poipet, Bavet and others) or in Preah Sihanouk. Hun Manet called the country’s 100-plus casinos “excessive” and ordered a review of licensing to reduce the number. See our guide to land-based casinos in Cambodia.

Takeaway: In 2026 the only legal gambling in Cambodia is a foreign passport-holder playing in person at a licensed casino.

Why now? The scam crackdown behind the ban

The online-gambling switch-off is one part of a much bigger campaign against scam compounds. Between July 2025 and 31 August 2026, the Interior Ministry says, authorities investigated 793 suspected locations, raided 624, dismantled 86 scam centres, detained nearly 30,000 suspects from 39 countries and sent 408 cases involving 3,477 accused to court (Cambodianess; The Cambodia Daily). More than 22,000 foreigners from 38 countries were rescued or repatriated.

Casinos were in the middle of it. The same figures show action against 27 casinos: 18 licences revoked and 9 suspended over links to online scams. A separate August inspection of all 195 licensed casinos, reported by AKP and iGaming Business, counted 20 licences revoked, 29 suspended and 23 lapsed. The two sets of numbers cover different periods and scopes, so they should not be added together. Some scam operations were found running from licensed casino premises, Yogonet noted.

The government’s stated goal, in the words of Interior Ministry deputy spokesperson Touch Sokhak, is to stop Cambodia becoming “a safe haven or money-laundering base for technology-related criminals”. Money is the thread: live-streamed tables, online football books and lotteries move large sums that are hard to trace, which is also what launderers and money-mule networks need.

Takeaway: The ban is an anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering measure first. It follows the same playbook as the Philippines’ POGO ban: shut the licensed cover that criminal groups were hiding behind.

What happened on 1 October

AKP reported on 1 October that 24 casinos had stopped online gambling and removed the related equipment: 12 in Preah Sihanouk, 7 in Banteay Meanchey (home to the Poipet border casinos) and 5 in Svay Rieng (Bavet). Violations face legal action “without exception or leniency”, and authorities say they are pursuing seizure and freezing of assets belonging to premises owners and casino shareholders involved in scam offences (Asia Gaming Brief).

On 5 October the CGMC and the secretariat of the anti-scam commission (CCOS) met officials from 16 provinces and the capital with casino operations to plan nationwide joint inspections this month, with police, immigration, labour officials and prosecutors (iGamingToday, citing AGB). The CGMC is also drafting an “integrity and quality” framework that will set minimum suitability conditions for renewing a casino licence; criteria and dates have not been published.

Not everyone is convinced. Political analyst Seng Vanly told Cambodianess the suspension’s credibility depends on enforcement, warned it could be “another short-lived announcement” if politically connected operators get special treatment, and said pressure on casinos could push criminal groups into smaller, harder-to-find locations. The government itself acknowledges smaller groups have moved to private homes, cafés and vehicles.

Takeaway: Watch the October inspections and the licence-renewal framework. They will show whether the 2026 ban sticks better than the 2019 one.

What it means for players in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and beyond

Many Asian players have bet on live baccarat, roulette or football through sites and agents that pointed to a Cambodian casino or “Cambodia licence”. After 30 September that story no longer holds:

1. No Cambodian online licence exists. None has been issued since August 2019, and casino streaming is now suspended. A site claiming one is either out of date or not telling the truth. Use our licence check guide to see who actually regulates it.
2. “Live from a real casino” is a sales line, not a licence. Proxy-betting agents who take your deposit and place bets for you sit outside any player protection. If a withdrawal stalls, there is no regulator to complain to.
3. Your own country’s rules still apply. Online gambling with unlicensed operators is illegal for residents in several Asian markets, whatever the operator says about its own licence.
4. Some “betting” apps were never gambling. Scam networks dress up fraud as betting or investment platforms. Learn the patterns in our fake gambling app red flags and test yourself with the Scam or Legit? quiz.
5. If you think you were scammed, act fast: call your bank, then report it. Malaysia: NSRC 997. Singapore: ScamShield Helpline 1799. Hong Kong: Anti-Deception Coordination Centre 18222.

Takeaway: Treat “Cambodia licensed” on an online betting site as a reason to walk away, not a reason to trust.

How Cambodia compares with its neighbours

Takeaway: The region is closing the “licensed hub serving foreign players” model one country at a time. Activity that loses its legal cover tends to move, not disappear.

FAQ

Is online gambling legal in Cambodia?

No. Cambodia stopped issuing online gambling licences on 18 August 2019 and online gambling has been illegal since 2020. From 1 October 2026 licensed casinos may also no longer stream games or take online football or lottery bets.

Is the October 2026 ban permanent?

It is officially a suspension with no end date. Ministers say online play could only return after new laws, digital monitoring systems and trained staff are in place.

Are casinos in Cambodia closed?

No. Land-based casinos stay open to foreign visitors with a passport. Only their online operations were switched off.

Can Cambodians gamble in casinos?

No. Cambodian citizens are prohibited from gambling; casinos are licensed to serve foreign tourists.

How many casinos lost their licences?

Interior Ministry figures to 31 August 2026 show 18 casino licences revoked and 9 suspended over links to online scams. A separate August inspection of 195 licensed casinos reported 20 revoked, 29 suspended and 23 lapsed.

Who regulates gambling in Cambodia?

The Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC), set up in 2021 under the 2020 Law on the Management of Integrated Resorts and Commercial Gambling.

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