Cambodia revokes Sihanoukville casino licence after online scam enforcement action

Cambodia’s Commercial Gambling Management Commission has cancelled the operating licence of Zhong Huawei Golden Sand International Entertainment in Sihanoukville after investigators concluded the casino had been involved in online scam activity uncovered during a joint April enforcement raid.

The decision was formalised in Press Release No. 017/26 G.S.CGMC.PR, dated 30 April 2026, in which the General Secretariat of the CGMC said it had revoked the licence of Zhong Huawei (Cambodia) Entertainment Co., Ltd., the company operating Casino Zhong Huawei Golden Sand International Entertainment in Village 4, Sangkat 4, Sihanoukville City, Preah Sihanouk Province.

According to the regulator, the move followed a joint operation in early April, carried out with provincial authorities and the national police, targeting alleged online scam activity at the casino’s premises. Reporting based on the official release says the raid led to the detention of 104 foreign nationals and the seizure of extensive equipment, including nearly 1,600 mobile phones, along with computers and network devices.

What appears to have pushed the case from raid to licence cancellation was the post-operation review. The CGMC said that, after further investigation and examination of the evidence, it concluded that the casino had in fact been “involved in online scam activities”, which then led to the revocation of its operating permit. That makes this more than a temporary closure or suspension: it is a formal regulatory withdrawal tied to the findings of an enforcement case.

The case also fits into a much broader Cambodian crackdown on cyber-enabled fraud. Recent reporting says authorities have raided more than 250 online scam centres over the past nine months and shut down 91 casinos allegedly linked to such activity, showing that the Zhong Huawei case is part of a wider attempt to break the connection between licensed gaming venues and scam compounds.

For Cambodia’s gaming sector, the significance of this revocation goes beyond one operator in Sihanoukville. It signals that the CGMC is willing to escalate from inspection and raids to full licence cancellation when casino premises are found to be linked to online scam operations. If that approach continues, licensed venues across the country will face stronger pressure not only to comply with gambling rules, but also to ensure they are not used as cover for wider cybercrime.