Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered a review of the country’s casino sector while ruling out the issuance of casino licences in Siem Reap, maintaining restrictions intended to protect the province’s heritage and tourism economy.
Manet said the Government had received requests from prospective casino investors in Siem Reap but would not approve them. The province includes the Angkor archaeological complex and has remained outside Cambodia’s main casino development areas.
Cambodia’s commercial gambling framework provides for prohibited zones intended to protect cultural and religious sites, while casino development has historically been concentrated in border and coastal areas.
The Government is also reassessing the scale of Cambodia’s casino industry. Manet questioned whether more than 100 casinos were necessary and said a working group had been established to examine the sector.
Requirements for future developments are also being tightened. Manet said investment must now total at least $100m, contrasting the threshold with earlier periods when considerably smaller properties could operate casinos.
The review comes alongside increased enforcement against casino-linked online scam operations. Authorities inspected all 195 licensed casinos as part of the nationwide crackdown.
A Government report published in August said 123 showed no evidence of involvement in online scams, while 72 had already suspended operations.
Cambodia subsequently revoked the licences of 18 casinos identified by authorities as being involved in online scam activity and suspended another nine pending further investigation.
The Commission for Combating Online Scams has conducted operations at more than 600 locations as part of the enforcement campaign.
Further restrictions will take effect in October, when online gambling operations at land-based casinos are suspended nationwide. Authorities have linked the measure to difficulties monitoring technology-based fraud and related financial flows.
The tightening comes as gaming tax receipts have weakened. Cambodia collected approximately $28m in gaming tax revenue during H1 2026, down 25.8% year-on-year, according to figures reported from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Earlier this month, the Commercial Gambling Management Commission began developing new evaluation standards for casino licence renewals, including minimum suitability requirements, alongside the October online gambling suspension and wider enforcement campaign.
Cambodian citizens are prohibited from gambling in the country’s casinos, which have historically been positioned primarily around foreign tourism and border markets
