Cambodia’s prime minister calls for end to gambling investments

Hun Manet is urging investors to shift their focus to other industries.

Cambodia.- Prime minister Hun Manet has urged investors to reconsider or halt investments in the country’s gambling sector. Speaking at a meeting with Cambodians in Australia and New Zealand, Manet emphasised his government’s stance against further investment in the gambling industry.

According to a local media outlet, Manet asserted that the government aims to suspend the issuance of new gambling licences and reduce or revoke existing ones due to the industry’s perceived lack of societal benefits. He said the country needed to focus on building factories and creating employment opportunities to boost the economy and improve living standards.

In February, Manet issued a voice message ordering governors to conduct thorough inspections of gambling venues and close any operations without authorisation. 

Earlier this week, Touch Sokhak, the deputy spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, revealed that 496 people were arrested in operations at 300 illicit gambling sites in the first two months of the year. According to Sokhak, law enforcement authorities took legal action against 69 operations, initiating procedural cases against 194 suspects to be prosecuted in court.