In a new report, Amnesty International claims the Cambodian government recently licensed “a dozen casinos” allegedly tied to online scam operations.
Despite recent, highly publicised claims by the Cambodian government that it is rooting out criminal online scam compounds, a new report from Amnesty International suggests otherwise.
The human rights organisation contends that “a dozen casinos” in Cambodia are “directly linked to scamming compounds”. Inside their walls, crimes such as “torture, forced labour, child labour and human trafficking have taken place”.
Among them: three casinos owned by alleged cybercrime kingpin Kok An. The Sino-Cambodian businessman and politician, described by the Thai Examiner as the “gangster sidekick” of former prime minister and current Senate President Hun Sen, owns Phnom Penh-based business conglomerate Anco Brothers Co Ltd.
The report published Thursday cites official licensing documents from Cambodia’s Commercial Gambling Management Commission (CGMC). They show casino owners directly control “at least 12 separate locations” where investigators have documented human rights abuses. “The findings corroborate testimony from compound survivors who described being on casino property while they were confined and abused,” the report stated.
The casinos in questions are reportedly located in Sihanoukville and border towns like Poipet, which primarily serve Thai patrons.
Claims undermine news of cybercrime crackdown
Since 2025, Cambodia claims to have made thousands of arrests in its crackdown on cybercrime, including so-called “pig butchering scams”. These online romance and crypto scams prey on unsuspecting victims and over time gain their trust. Scammbers then persuade them to part with their money, often by investing in phony get-rich-quick schemes.
In January and February, Cambodia reportedly shut down 190 scam centres across the country. They included 44 casinos allegedly involved in “fraudulent activities carried out through technological systems”. It also revoked the licences of four casinos linked to Prince Group Holdings, which reportedly runs one of the world’s biggest online fraud enterprises. At one point, Prince Group scams raked in an estimated US$30 million a day. In January, Cambodian law enforcement arrested company boss Chen Zhi and deported him to his Chinese homeland. There he faces charges of fraud, money laundering, human trafficking and torture.
The CGMC said such enforcement demonstrates its will to “strengthen regulation of the commercial gaming sector … and ensure operations are conducted lawfully”.
Report: New scam centres are replacing the old
But the Amnesty International report calls that commitment into question. Watchdog Co-Regional Director Montse Ferrer said its research “establishes a clear link between Cambodia’s licensed casinos and its scamming compounds. 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.”
Recently, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime commended Cambodia for ramping up the fight against cyberfraud, a growing menace worth an estimated US$40 billion yearly.
But Ferrer insists the country must try harder. “If the government is serious about ending this slave-driven industry, it must investigate all scamming compounds in the country,” he said.
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.
