GGRAsia – Cambodia, China pledge to crack down on online gambling

Cambodia, China pledge to crack down on online gambling

Nov 14, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Cambodia and China have agreed to strengthen cooperation, including efforts to crack down on online gambling and telecommunications scams. The agreement was on the occasion of the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Cambodia last week, according to a joint statement.

Premier Li (pictured), who was in Cambodia to take part in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, met with the country’s prime minister Hun Sen, as the two nations seek to enhance security ties.

“Law enforcement cooperation is to be furthered with highlights on combating human trafficking, online gambling, telecom fraud and related heinous crimes, facilitated by closer cooperation in capacity building and information exchanges,” according to the joint statement.

In addition to tackling cyber crimes, the two sides also pledged to promote cooperation on infrastructure projects, trade, tourism and increase direct flights.

The Cambodian authorities have stepped up efforts to crack down on all types of illegal gambling – including online gambling – in the country.

The country boasts a sizeable, licensed casino industry. A total of 87 out of an aggregate 171 casino-licence applications had resulted in renewal as of October 10, said Ros Phirun, secretary general at the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia, in recent comments to GGRAsia

The China-Cambodia announcement comes a week after China signed a similar agreement with Vietnam. Earlier this month, Vietnam and China agreed to promote bilateral cooperation against “cross-border gambling”, among a number of law enforcement topics.

The latter announcement was seen as a way for Vietnam to boost general tourism from neighbouring China when the latter nation eases pandemic-related constraints on outbound foreign travel, industry analysts recently told GGRAsia.