Cambodia’s gambling regulator has moved decisively against the Roxy Hotel & Casino in the border city of Bavet, revoking its operating licence after a multi-agency investigation uncovered alleged connections to online fraud operations. The enforcement action underscores the country’s intensifying campaign to sever links between licensed gaming venues and suspected cybercrime networks.

Investigation and Enforcement

On 21 May, local authorities working alongside Cambodia’s Commission for Combating Online Scams carried out an inspection at the property. That operation resulted in the detention of 25 Chinese nationals at the casino, which is operated by Radiant Pearl Investment Ltd. Investigators seized mobile phones, computers, vehicles and surveillance equipment during the raid.

When authorities analysed the seized electronic devices, they concluded that the casino had facilitated online fraud activities. Cambodia’s Commercial Gambling Management Commission subsequently revoked the venue’s licence this week. Another significant casualty in the regulator’s escalating enforcement campaign.

Criminal Investigation Deepens

This closure is just the beginning. The gambling commission has formally requested Cambodia’s Financial Intelligence Unit to examine bank accounts connected to the company’s owners and previous licence holders. Those findings will be forwarded to prosecutors at Svay Rieng Provincial Court as authorities prepare potential criminal charges.

Part of a Wider Pattern

The Bavet closure sits within a much larger regulatory push. According to figures cited by Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Cambodian authorities have raided over 250 suspected scam centres in the past nine months and shut down 91 casinos allegedly linked to fraudulent operations.

This enforcement campaign reflects growing international scrutiny of Cambodia’s gaming sector and its relationship to cybercrime networks. An April report from Amnesty International alleged connections between certain casino complexes and locations associated with human trafficking, forced labour and other serious abuses, though Cambodian officials have disputed characterisations of the country as a primary command centre for such operations.

Regardless of those debates, regulators show no signs of slowing down. The Bavet revocation signals a sustained commitment to dismantling structures that use licensed gaming properties as operational cover for online fraud activity.

What the team thinks

Sheena McAllister says:

While Cambodia’s enforcement action against Bavet’s Roxy Hotel & Casino demonstrates commendable regulatory resolve, the real challenge lies in addressing the upstream factors that create demand for these illicit connections in the first place, something the article doesn’t fully explore. From a compliance perspective, this crackdown mirrors the UKGC’s own shift toward holding licensed operators accountable for third-party misconduct, but Cambodia’s fragmented regulatory framework means such actions, however well-intentioned, risk creating enforcement gaps rather than genuinely protecting consumers. The broader lesson for jurisdictions globally should be that licence revocation alone won’t dismantle scam networks; only sustained cross-border cooperation and transparent operator accountability structures can achieve that outcome.