Cambodia raids 10,000 locations in illegal gaming crackdown

Oct 17, 2022 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Cambodian authorities say they have inspected more than 10,000 suspicious locations as part of efforts to crack down on all types of illegal gambling in the country. The information was disclosed by Chhay Kim Khoeun, deputy commissioner general and spokesman for the country’s National Police.

Local media outlet the Khmer Times quoted the official as saying that the police implemented “legal measures” in 127 of the inspected locations. A total of 273 people were sent to court, including 56 foreigners, it added.

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. So far, one of the 171 applications had been denied, he added.

In mid-September, the government of Cambodia ordered a “strict crackdown” on all types of illegal gambling. The nationwide move was said to include lotteries, cockfighting and poker, among other forms of unauthorised gambling.

The national authorities set up a group to oversee the implementation of the measure, led by the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior.

The move by the Cambodia government followed news that illegal gambling was rampant in that nation. The country has also been under the spotlight recently, with a number of reports about people from other countries in Asia being trafficked into Cambodia and forced to work for criminal syndicates, namely in operations related to illegal gambling.

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