Cambodia continues to grant licences to casinos hosting scam centres
Despite a government crackdown, new licences have been issued in recent months to casinos with clear ties to online scam centres. Amnesty International reported an "industrialized" form of abuse within gambling establishments, where criminal groups engage in violence, forced labour, and human trafficking.
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) – Despite promises to crack down on online scam centres, Cambodian authorities continue to approve new projects proposed by casinos with documented systemic human rights violations, resulting in modern forms of slavery, this according to a report released today by Amnesty International.
The human rights NGO identified at least a dozen facilities where torture, forced labour, and human trafficking still occur, based on official documents from the Cambodia’s own Commercial Gambling Management Commission (CGMC), which show that casino owners control buildings and sites where abuses have been identified.
Survivors, who were asked to show the buildings where they were imprisoned, confirmed that much of the violence occurred within the compounds that also house casinos.
The government issued the last licences between December 2025 and January 2026, despite simultaneously waging a nationwide campaign against scam centres, where people are coerced into engaging in various types of online fraud.
Several Crown casinos are among the establishments singled out, which are owned by the Anco Brothers company, as well as establishments like the Majestic Hotel & Casino in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, whose owner was indicted in January of this year for illegal recruitment for the purpose of exploitation, aggravated fraud, organised crime, and money laundering.
“This research establishes a clear link between Cambodia’s licensed casinos and its scamming compounds,” Amnesty International’s Co-Regional Director Montse Ferrer said. “At a time when the government says it is dismantling the scamming industry, the evidence shows it is simultaneously recognizing the plans for casino properties where abusive scamming compounds are run,”
The witnesses, who were interviewed between 2024 and 2026, describe an organised system of violence. Hailing from different countries, the victims described how they were lured to Cambodia with false job offers, only to be held in facilities managed and controlled by criminal gangs, often linked to Chinese nationals or people with dual citizenship, who in turn had close ties to Cambodia's ruling elite.
Last year, Amnesty International accused the Cambodian government of complicity with certain criminal groups.
One woman reported being detained for months in a casino-linked compound in the city of Poipet, which borders Thailand. “The guards would enter the room and trigger the shock batons ... it made a terrible sound. The children in the room were crying.” She added that she was forced to open a bank account, likely used to launder money.
Another survivor, a victim of trafficking as a minor, explained that he was transferred from one complex to another, where he was tortured and faced death threats before managing to escape through a window.
Amnesty International’s probe compared official maps of the CGMC casinos with satellite imagery and victims’ stories. In at least eleven cases, the online scam centres are inside facilities formally recognised as licenced casinos, restaurants, as well as residential and office buildings.
In addition to the Crown chain, the organisation linked many other sites (Golden Sea Casino, Peak Casino, and Marinan International) to abuses, including forced labour, child exploitation, and torture.
According to Amnesty, exploitation takes on an "industrialized" form, requiring thorough investigations and accountability along the entire economic chain.
“The authorities must explain why casinos with documented links to trafficking and torture continue to receive official approval,” Ferrer said. “Every day that these casinos remain licensed is another day in which people on casino property are at risk of being enslaved.”
In a previous report from June 2025, Amnesty documented the presence of more than 50 scam centres in Cambodia, many of which are linked to casinos.
Despite government announcements of greater repression, the reality on the ground appears to be in clear contradiction with official statements.
Amnesty contacted the authorities and companies involved for a response, but none had been received at the time of the report’s publication.
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17/10/2025 16:59
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