On 5 April, Cambodian law enforcement raided the Gang Dao Casino in Preah Sihanouk casino, allegedly home of an online scam centre. Police seized almost 500 computers and more than 1,000 mobile phones reportedly used in the illegal operation. They detained 108 suspects, then shut down and sealed the property, announced the Commercial Gambling Management Commission.
The CGMC has revoked the casino’s licence, which was issued in November 2025. It has also charged operator Gang Dao International Entertainment with breaching Cambodia’s Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling.
Better known as ‘Scambodia’
Cambodia is known as the scam capital of Southeast Asia. Vying for the dishonour with Myanmar and Laos, it has earned it the unfortunate moniker “Scambodia”. The raid and closure follow the government’s renewed commitment to ridding the country of online fraud. Cambodia’s share of criminal enterprise generated an estimated US$12.5 billion in 2024.
The local casino industry first sprung up in border towns like Sihanoukville, Poipet and Bavet. They courted players from neighbouring countries like Thailand and China, where gambling is illegal. Under Chinese crime syndicates, they expanded first into online gambling, then online fraud.
The business is known for entrapping workers in search of clerical or computer-related jobs. Once onsite, the victims are forced to perpetrate online romance and crypto scams, often under threat of physical violence. According to a 6 April BBC report, in one now-closed casino, workers who failed to meet financial quotas were beaten, receiving “a minimum of 10 strokes” of the cane.
In one horrific case, reported by the Washington, DC-based Center for Defense Strategies (C4ADS), Vietnamese worker Nyuyen Van Luu attempted to sell a kidney to earn money for his family. Instead, when he arrived for the harvesting, he was taken to a casino in Poipet, Cambodia. There he was informed, “This is a scam centre. The only options are to work here, be sold elsewhere or call home to ransom you.”
“Another friend did the same thing and was … tortured and sold elsewhere,” said Nyugen after he was freed. “It seems they made quite a bit of money from this.”
More prison time, steeper fines
On 3 April, the Cambodian government approved tough new penalties for those convicted of running scam compounds. By royal decree, operators now face five to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Those who engage in kidnapping, illegal detention, forced labour and abuse could face up to 20 years in jail and fines of up to $500,000. Those whose actions result in one or more deaths can be imprisoned for life.
Cambodia is talking a good game, and ensuring the proactive approach makes headlines. But Amnesty International Co-Regional Director Montse Ferrer is unconvinced. “At a time when the government says it is dismantling the scamming industry, the evidence shows it is simultaneously recognising the plans for casino properties where abusive scamming compounds are run,” he says.
Jacob Sims, a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, agrees. “The Cambodian government’s PR campaign has definitely stepped it up a notch,” he told Time Magazine. “It’s … speaking the language of a sanitised international organisation. But their actual behaviour does not really look like a country that is trying in good faith to eliminate this.”
Marjorie Preston
Marjorie began her gaming career in 2007 and has focused on Asian gaming markets since 2020. Outside of work, she writes about travel and film and plays the drums.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/cambodia-closes-alleged-online-scam-op-at-preah-sihanouk-casino/
