Legal casino gambling age in CambodiaCambodia has one of the largest land-based casino sectors in South-East Asia, but its casinos exist for foreign visitors. Cambodian citizens are prohibited from gambling, a rule that dates back to the Law on the Suppression of Gambling of 1996. Casinos, betting and games of chance are licensed under the Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling, promulgated in November 2020, and supervised by the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC), a body chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance. No licence is available for online gambling aimed at the public: the government stopped issuing online gambling licences in August 2019 and declared all online and arcade gambling illegal from the end of that year. Since 2024 the sector has been reshaped by a national campaign against online scam operations, some of which, according to the regulator and rights groups, operated inside or beside licensed casinos, and in September 2026 the Prime Minister ordered the suspension of all online gambling streamed from casinos from early October.
Key points
- The Law on the Suppression of Gambling (1996) prohibits gambling of all kinds except where permitted by the government, and remains on the statute book. Gambling by Cambodian nationals is prohibited, including in licensed casinos.
- The Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling, promulgated on 14 November 2020, provides for casino, betting, game-of-chance, personnel, promoter and equipment licences, issued by the CGMC.
- No online gambling licence is issued. A directive of August 2019 ended online gambling licensing, and the government declared online and arcade gambling illegal from the end of 2019.
- Licensed casinos pay a tax of 7% on mass-market and 4% on VIP gross gaming revenue (GGR), and since 1 January 2025 also 10% value added tax (VAT) on GGR.
- In 2025–2026 the authorities investigated 195 licensed casinos for links to online scams and revoked or suspended dozens of licences; online gambling streamed from casinos was ordered to be suspended from early October 2026.
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
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Historical development
Modern Cambodian gambling law starts with the Law on the Suppression of Gambling, adopted by the National Assembly in January 1996 and signed by King Norodom Sihanouk. Its first article declares that gambling of all kinds, in all places throughout the Kingdom, is strictly prohibited, except where permitted by the Royal Government. The law left the government wide discretion to authorise casinos, and it did so on a large scale. The first major licence went to the company now known as NagaCorp, under a 1995 agreement that gave it a 70-year casino licence running to 2065 and exclusive rights within 200 kilometres of Phnom Penh (see NagaCorp company overview). Other casinos clustered along the borders with Thailand and Vietnam, in towns such as Poipet and Bavet, and on the coast at Sihanoukville.
In the late 2010s Sihanoukville (Preah Sihanouk province) experienced a rapid, largely Chinese-financed casino and online gambling boom. According to CamboJA News (August 2019), the number of casino licensees had risen by more than half to 150 in 2018, with about 90 licensees in Sihanoukville. Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a directive in August 2019 halting the issue of online gambling licences, citing foreign criminals who used the industry to defraud and extort victims at home and abroad. On 31 August 2019 the Council of Ministers went further and declared that all online and arcade gambling would be banned by the end of 2019 (iGaming Business, September 2019). The report places the decision in the context of pressure from China on South-East Asian states to close online gambling businesses.
The government then replaced the patchwork of decisions with a dedicated statute. The draft was approved by the Council of Ministers and passed by the National Assembly on 5 October 2020 (The Diplomat, October 2020); it was promulgated in November 2020.
Legal framework
Law on the Suppression of Gambling (1996)
The 1996 law (reference NS/RKM/0196/28, listed as in effect by the Open Development Mekong law database) remains the general prohibition. It punishes gamblers with a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 riels or imprisonment of one week to one month, rising to a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 riels and one month to one year’s imprisonment for repeat offenders. Organisers and managers of illegal gambling face fines of 5 to 20 million riels and one to five years’ imprisonment. Officials who authorise gambling unlawfully also face imprisonment. Press reports continue to describe the 1996 law as the basis of the ban on gambling by Cambodian citizens (for example, Cambodianess, February 2024).
Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling (2020)
The Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling was promulgated by Royal Kram NS/RKM/1120/031 on 14 November 2020, according to a DFDL legal update. It covers “integrated commercial gambling centres” (integrated resorts) and commercial gambling activities, defined as casino gambling, betting games, games of chance and other gambling operated for profit. The law:
- creates an inter-ministerial commission as the competent authority, with power to propose policy, issue implementing regulations, grant licences and collect revenue;
- provides for casino licences of up to 20 years for casinos inside integrated centres and up to 5 years for casinos outside them, as well as licences for betting games, games of chance, other commercial gambling, special personnel, promoters (junket operators) and manufacturers and distributors of gaming equipment;
- divides the country into prohibited zones, where gambling is excluded for cultural or religious reasons, and permitted zones, with the precise locations set by sub-decree. Article 19 contains the location restrictions and Article 20 protects certain casinos built before the law took effect, as summarised by iGaming Business (see below).
An analysis of the draft by MdME Lawyers, published by G3 Newswire in 2020, explained that the law would not allow Cambodian nationals to take part in gaming and that online gaming and sports betting fell within its scope, with details left to later regulation. Commentators at the time also reported that new casinos had to be at least 200 kilometres from Phnom Penh (Focus Gaming News), a figure that matches NagaCorp’s contractual exclusivity zone.
Implementing regulations
Key secondary instruments include:
- Sub-Decree No. 165 of 26 August 2021 on the organisation and functioning of the CGMC, and Sub-Decree No. 166 of the same date on minimum capital for casino operators. New casinos in integrated resorts must hold at least KHR 800 billion (about US$200 million) and stand-alone casinos KHR 400 billion (about US$100 million); existing operators reach the KHR 400 billion level over 15 years (Rajah & Tann, November 2021).
- Sub-Decree 102 of 31 May 2022 on transitional fines, which sets, for example, a fine of 8 million riels per day for operating on an expired casino licence and 100 million riels for unauthorised transfer of a licence; Instructions 17 and 18 of 20 October 2022 on game-of-chance businesses and casino operations (DFDL).
- Prakas No. 1080 of 30 December 2022 on the taxation of casinos, discussed under Taxation below.
Regulator and licensing model
Cambodia follows a licensing model for land-based gambling, restricted to foreign customers. The regulator is the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC). It is chaired by the Minister of Economy and Finance and has a General Secretariat with five departments covering general affairs, legal affairs and licence management, revenue supervision, gaming technology and security (Rajah & Tann). In a notification of July 2025 the CGMC restated that only legal entities holding a valid CGMC licence for a specified location may conduct commercial gambling, using registered games and approved equipment and software, with staff holding special personnel licences (Andersen in Cambodia, July 2025). In a notification of 17 December 2024, the CGMC said it would set up on-site offices at licensed casinos; a law firm quoted by GGRAsia (2025) noted that the notification gave no implementation details.
Integrated resorts and casino licences
The 2020 law distinguishes between casinos inside integrated commercial gambling centres, which may receive the longer 20-year licence, and stand-alone casinos. The capital thresholds in Sub-Decree 166 are correspondingly higher for integrated resort casinos. Separately from the statutory scheme, NagaCorp’s contract gives its NagaWorld complex exclusivity within 200 kilometres of Phnom Penh, extended in November 2019 to 31 December 2045, with exceptions for the Cambodia–Vietnam border area, Bokor, the Kirirom mountains and Sihanoukville (Asgam, November 2019). The government has also limited where new casinos may be built: in July 2024 Prime Minister Hun Manet barred new casinos in Kep and Kampot provinces, except on Bokor Mountain (iGaming Business, July 2024), and in September 2026 he said casino investment would not be permitted in Siem Reap (GGRAsia, September 2026).
Number of licensed casinos
Published counts vary with date and definition. Reported figures include 193 licensed casinos in October 2020 (The Diplomat), 184 licensed gaming halls in July 2024 (iGaming Business), and 160 legal casinos in 2025 according to a CGMC adviser quoted by Cambodianess (February 2026). According to the same adviser, most are in Preah Sihanouk province. The Ministry of Economy and Finance publishes a geolocated dataset of licensed casino establishments compiled with the CGMC; it was last updated in September 2026.
Online gambling
No licence exists under which an operator may offer online casino games or online betting to the public in Cambodia. The August 2019 directive stopped the issue of online gambling licences “both within and outside of the Kingdom” and instructed the Ministry of Economy and Finance not to renew licences as they expired (CamboJA News). The Council of Ministers then declared that “all kinds of online and arcade gambling in the Kingdom are illegal” and set the end of 2019 as the deadline for closure (iGaming Business). Although the 2020 law brought online gaming within its scope in principle, no regime for online licences has been published, and Cambodian officials continue to describe online gambling as banned since 2019.
Online gambling streamed from casinos
One exception persisted in practice: licensed casinos streamed live-dealer games from their gaming floors to remote players. The sources we reviewed do not set out the legal basis on which this was permitted after 2019. In mid-September 2026 Prime Minister Hun Manet announced that “all online gambling operations will be suspended starting early October”, citing the difficulty of controlling cash flows and preventing technology-related crime, as reported by Xinhua via The Star. The Interior Minister, Sar Sokha, had earlier said that live-dealer streaming from casinos would be prohibited from October (Asgam, September 2026). According to iGaming Expert, the government will develop a new management system before deciding whether to lift the suspension, and casinos that breach it face legal action and revocation of their licences. At the time of review we had not been able to read the text of the order itself.
Enforcement against illegal gambling and advertising
Enforcement relies on the police, provincial authorities and the CGMC rather than on a published website blocklist; we found no official list of blocked gambling domains. In February 2024 the CGMC warned that promoting or distributing any video advertising online gambling is illegal, after a music video promoted a gambling app (Cambodianess, February 2024). A CGMC directive of 19 February 2024, signed by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Aun Pornmoniroth, ordered local authorities and the CGMC to carry out regular inspections and to act against keno, lotteries and other illegal gambling (Gambling Insider). On 4 December 2024 the Interior Minister issued a circular requiring all promotion of illegal gambling to cease by 10 December. According to the ministry, more than 900 gambling locations were shut down between January and early December 2024, with about 400 cases sent to court and 520 handled through education measures (Cambodianess, December 2024).
Position of players
The legal position of players depends on nationality.
- Cambodian citizens may not gamble, whether in a licensed casino, with an unlicensed local game or online. The 1996 law makes participation in unauthorised gambling an offence, with the fines and short prison terms set out above. The Interior Ministry’s 2024 figures show that enforcement does reach local gambling, although they do not separate players from organisers. Commentators have also reported that enforcement of the ban on locals in casinos has been uneven (Asia Gaming Brief, March 2024).
- Foreign visitors may gamble in licensed casinos. We found no published minimum gambling age in the sources reviewed; readers should check the house rules of the venue.
- Online play. Since no online operator is licensed, any online casino or betting site accessible from Cambodia operates without Cambodian authorisation. For citizens, gambling online falls within the general prohibition. We found no reported prosecution of a foreign national solely for playing on an offshore website from Cambodia, and the sources do not settle whether the 1996 law would be applied to such a case.
Taxation
For decades casinos paid a fixed lump-sum tax. From 30 December 2022 Prakas No. 1080 replaced this with a revenue-based system: 7% of GGR from mass-market gaming and 4% of GGR from VIP gaming. GGR means the amount staked minus winnings paid out. Casinos must register with the General Department of Taxation, report under International Financial Reporting Standards, declare gambling and non-gambling income and keep records for ten years (Yogonet, January 2023). A two-year deferral of VAT ended on 31 December 2024, so from 1 January 2025 casinos also pay 10% VAT on GGR, plus a 1% monthly prepayment of income tax. A CGMC technical adviser put the combined burden at close to 20% and said there was “no more room for waiving any of tax obligations” (GGRAsia, May 2025).
We found no published rule on the taxation of individual gambling winnings in Cambodia. Because citizens may not gamble lawfully, the question mainly concerns foreign visitors, who should take advice in their home jurisdiction.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Cambodia’s main consumer protection measure is the ban on citizens gambling at all. We found no national self-exclusion register, no state-funded problem gambling helpline and no published responsible gambling code issued by the CGMC. The 2020 law’s location rules, which keep casinos out of zones protected for cultural and religious reasons, and the 2024 measures against the promotion of gambling are the other protective measures in place.
Residents or visitors concerned about their gambling can find general guidance on limits and warning signs in our responsible gambling guide.
Recent and upcoming developments
Since 2024 Cambodian gambling policy has been driven largely by the response to online scam operations, which governments, the United Nations and rights groups have linked in part to casino premises.
- Casino closures (October–November 2025). The CGMC’s General Secretariat ordered the suspension of four casinos in Preah Sihanouk and one in Bavet on 16 October 2025 on suspicion that online scams were being run from within licensed premises; the premises were sealed on 2 November 2025 (Yogonet, November 2025).
- Prince Group case (October 2025–January 2026). On 14 October 2025 the United States and the United Kingdom announced sanctions against the Prince Group conglomerate and its chairman, Chen Zhi, and US prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing him of running forced-labour scam compounds in Cambodia. The group called the allegations baseless. Cambodia revoked Chen Zhi’s citizenship and, after his arrest on 6 January 2026, extradited him to China (OCCRP, January 2026).
- Law on Combating Technology-based Fraud (April 2026). Approved by the National Assembly on 30 March 2026 and the Senate on 3 April 2026, and promulgated on 6 April 2026 (Fresh News), the law punishes individual scammers with two to five years’ imprisonment, scam centre leaders with five to ten years, rising to ten to twenty years where violence, confinement, trafficking or forced labour is involved, and fraud resulting in death with fifteen years’ to life imprisonment (Andersen in Cambodia; Al Jazeera).
- Amnesty International report (April 2026). Amnesty said it had documented at least 11 cases in which scam operations ran inside facilities licensed as casinos or related buildings, and that licences had been issued between December 2025 and January 2026 despite these links. The CGMC had not responded by the time of publication (Yogonet, April 2026).
- Government figures (July 2026). Senior Minister Chhay Sinarith, head of the secretariat of the Commission for Combating Online Scams, reported that between July 2025 and June 2026 the authorities had investigated 665 locations, sealed 537 and deported 21,102 foreign suspects. It also reported investigating 195 licensed casinos, revoking 19 licences, suspending 30 and recording 23 as expired (Cambodianess, July 2026). Later reports give slightly different totals, such as 20 revocations and 29 suspensions (Asgam), reflecting different dates.
- UNODC assessment (July 2026). A UN Office on Drugs and Crime report described an interconnected regional criminal economy spanning fraud, trafficking, illegal gambling and money laundering, and repeated its earlier finding that casinos and cryptocurrencies were major drivers of underground banking (OCCRP summary, July 2026).
- Fewer casinos and stricter licensing (September 2026). On 16 September 2026 the Prime Minister described the existing number of casinos as excessive and instructed the authorities to tighten licensing conditions and reduce the number gradually. The CGMC is preparing a casino integrity and quality evaluation framework setting minimum suitability conditions for licence renewals (GGRAsia; Asgam). Online gambling streamed from casinos was due to be suspended from early October 2026. At the time of review we had not seen the published framework or confirmation of how the suspension is being enforced.
Casino listings for players in Cambodia
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed in Cambodia: no online casino holds a Cambodian licence, online gambling has been banned since 2019, and gambling by Cambodian citizens is prohibited by law. The listings must not be read as an indication that playing online casino games from Cambodia is lawful. Land-based licensees are recorded in the Ministry of Economy and Finance licensed casino dataset.
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Sources and further reading
- Kingdom of Cambodia (via WTO Import Licensing database), Law on the Suppression of Gambling, NS/RKM/0196/28 (1996) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Open Development Mekong, Law on the Suppression of Gambling: law record (accessed 6 October 2026).
- DFDL, Cambodia Monthly Legal Update, November 2020 (Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- DFDL, Penalties for Violation of the Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling and Instructions on Managing Casino Operations and Game-of-Chance Businesses (2022) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Rajah & Tann Sok & Heng, Client Update: New Regulations for Commercial Gaming (2021) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Rui Pinto Proença, MdME Lawyers, G3 Newswire, Cambodia: Law on the Management of IR and Commercial Gambling (2020) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- The Diplomat, Cambodia Passes Law to Regulate Exploding Gambling Sector (2020) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Focus Gaming News, What the new gaming law means for Cambodia (2020) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- CamboJA News, Hun Sen orders halt to issuing of online gambling licenses (2019) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- iGaming Business, Cambodian premier orders end to igaming (2019) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- NagaCorp Ltd, Company overview (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Asgam, NagaCorp signs 10-year extension to Phnom Penh casino exclusivity agreement through 2045 (2019) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Yogonet, Cambodia implements new revenue-based taxation system for land-based casinos (2023) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- GGRAsia, No opportunity to waive VAT on Cambodia casino revenue: gaming regulator (2025) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- GGRAsia, Cambodia regulator to have onsite office at licensed casinos: law firm (2025) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Andersen in Cambodia, Cambodia Reiterates Requirements for Legal Casino Gambling Operations (2025) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia, Licensed Casino Establishments in Cambodia (dataset) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cambodianess, Cambodia Operates 160 Legal Casinos by 2025 (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- iGaming Business, Cambodian PM bans new casinos in Kep, Kampot (2024) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cambodianess, Legal Action to be Taken Against Online Gambling Advertisement (2024) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Gambling Insider, Cambodia cracks down on illegal gambling with new directive (2024) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cambodianess, Interior Ministry Orders Gambling Promotion Cessation: the Public Wants Real Action (2024) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Asia Gaming Brief, Under the Scope: Cambodia tightens its regulatory belt, aims to appease China (2024) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Yogonet, Five casinos in Cambodia shut down over suspected online scams (2025) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- OCCRP, Cambodia Extradites Chair of Alleged ‘Criminal’ Conglomerate to China (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Fresh News, Cambodia’s New Law on Combating Technology-based Fraud Promulgated (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Andersen in Cambodia, Cambodia Strengthens Legal Framework to Combat Online Scams (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Al Jazeera, Cambodia parliament approves law to combat cybercrime scam rings (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Yogonet, Amnesty International says licensed Cambodian casinos remain tied to trafficking and torture (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cambodianess, Cambodia Seals Hundreds of Scams Sites, Deports Over 20,000 Foreign Suspects in One Year (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- OCCRP, UN Report Details Southeast Asia’s Interconnected Criminal Economy (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Asgam, Cambodian gaming regulator preparing new casino license renewal framework to strengthen sector (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- GGRAsia, PM says Cambodia gradually to cut number of casinos, tighten licensing: reports (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- The Star (Xinhua), Cambodia bans online gambling at all casinos from October to combat tech scams, says PM Hun Manet (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- iGaming Expert, Cambodia suspends online gambling activity from casinos (2026) (accessed 6 October 2026).
