Cambodia to update gambling laws to tackle illegal activities

Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior aims to amend the Law on Suppression of Gambling.

Cambodia.- The Cambodian Ministry of the Interior has announced that it will amend the 1996 Law on Suppression of Gambling to bring it in line with the more recent 2020 Law on Commercial Gambling Management. In a social media post, Ministry of Interior undersecretary of state Try Sokheng said he had chaired a technical working group to discuss the amendments on January 23.

According to The Phnom Penh Post, Sokheng said the initiative’s goal was to bolster the suppression of illegal gambling activities, driven by the need to adapt to evolving technology. Yong Kim Eng, president of the People’s Centre for Development and Peace, said that it was important to eliminate gambling in residential areas and ensure local authorities refrain from issuing permits for gambling operations. 

While acknowledging government efforts, Eng expressed concerns about their effectiveness. He argued that a well-crafted law is insufficient if enforcement struggles with effective crackdowns.

According to Article 5 of the 1996 Law on Suppression of Gambling, people who participate in unauthorised gambling dens or engage in gambling agent management may be subjected to a fine ranging from five to KHR20m (US$1,225 to US$5,000) and may face imprisonment from one to five years.  Article 10 prohibits any entity other than the government from authorising gambling. Permitting gambling without government authorisation may result in imprisonment for up to five years.

3,155 arrested for illegal gambling in 2023

Police conducted 1,786 operations against illegal gambling in Cambodia in 2023, leading to the arrest of 3,155 people, including 1,238 women and the arraignment of 700 offenders. That’s according to the Ministry of Interior, which said the operations targeted 712 locations.

Touch Sokhak, the Ministry of Interior spokesperson, said the operations involved arrests, administrative actions such as contract signing and education and inspections at 302 locations. Authorities seized 10 vehicles, 390 motorcycles and 143 fighting roosters. The efforts resulted in the submission of 165 cases involving 710 people to the courts.

Contract signing and education resulted in 1,621 cases and 2,445 people renouncing illegal gaming, including 1,085 women.

See also: China and Cambodia pledge to eradicate online gambling-related crime