Preah Sihanouk Casino Targeted in Cambodia’s Crackdown on Online Scam Operation

(AsiaGameHub) –   On April 5th, authorities in Cambodia conducted a raid on the Gang Dao Casino in Preah Sihanouk, which was suspected of housing an online scam operation. According to the Commercial Gambling Management Commission, police confiscated approximately 500 computers and over 1,000 mobile phones believed to be utilized in the illicit activities. The operation led to the detention of 108 individuals, after which the premises were closed and sealed.

The CGMC has canceled the casino’s operating license, originally granted in November 2025. The operator, Gang Dao International Entertainment, has also been charged with violating Cambodia’s Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling.

Better known as ‘Scambodia’

Cambodia has a reputation as the primary hub for scams in Southeast Asia. Competing for this dishonorable status with Myanmar and Laos, the country has been given the nickname “Scambodia”. This recent enforcement action aligns with the government’s stated renewed effort to eradicate online fraud from the nation. Criminal activities in Cambodia were estimated to have produced $12.5 billion in 2024.

The country’s casino sector initially emerged in border areas such as Sihanoukville, Poipet, and Bavet. These establishments attracted patrons from nearby nations like Thailand and China, where gambling is prohibited. Under the direction of Chinese criminal syndicates, the industry first branched into online gambling before progressing to online fraud.

This illicit trade is notorious for luring individuals with promises of office or IT jobs. Once trapped on site, these victims are coerced into carrying out romance and cryptocurrency scams, frequently under the threat of physical harm. A BBC report from April 6th detailed that at one now-shuttered casino, employees who did not meet their financial targets were subjected to beatings, receiving “a minimum of 10 strokes” from a cane.

In a disturbing incident documented by the Washington, DC-based Center for Defense Strategies (C4ADS), a Vietnamese worker named Nyuyen Van Luu tried to sell a kidney to support his family. However, when he arrived for the procedure, he was instead transported to a casino in Poipet, Cambodia. There, he was told, “This is a scam centre. The only options are to work here, be sold elsewhere or call home to ransom you.”

“Another friend did the same thing and was … tortured and sold elsewhere,” Nyugen stated after his release. “It seems they made quite a bit of money from this.”

More prison time, steeper fines

On April 3rd, the Cambodian government endorsed stringent new punishments for individuals convicted of operating scam compounds. By royal decree, operators now risk prison sentences of five to ten years and fines reaching $250,000. Those involved in kidnapping, illegal detention, forced labor, and abuse could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined as much as $500,000. Perpetrators whose actions lead to one or more fatalities can receive a life sentence.

While Cambodia is publicly asserting a strong stance and ensuring its proactive measures receive media attention, Amnesty International Co-Regional Director Montse Ferrer remains skeptical. “At a time when the government says it is dismantling the scamming industry, the evidence shows it is simultaneously recognising the plans for casino properties where abusive scamming compounds are run,” he says.

Jacob Sims, a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, concurs. “The Cambodian government’s PR campaign has definitely stepped it up a notch,” he told Time Magazine. “It’s … speaking the language of a sanitised international organisation. But their actual behaviour does not really look like a country that is trying in good faith to eliminate this.”