The General Secretariat of the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia (CGMC) on October 20 issued new guidelines for gambling businesses in Cambodia.

The guidelines are aimed at gambling operators and the managers of casino operations to ensure the effective implementation of laws governing commercial gambling and to protect the legitimate rights of operators in the sector.

“The guidelines aim to crack down on all illegal gambling activities and gambling dens and to promote legal commercial gambling,” the CGMC said.

The purpose of the guidelines on the management of casino operations is to ensure that casino operations can be carried out that follow the laws and standard documents relevant to the management of commercial gambling.

The CGMC has instructed the casino operators or casino owners to apply for a licence or renew their casino licences to receive permission to continue to operate, noting that casino operations are only allowed in the clearly defined geographical locations of their casino development proposal and the conditions set out in the Law on the Management of Commercial Gambling and the relevant legal documents in force.

The CGMC added that the casino operators or casino owners who have received casino licences from the CGMC can only operate in the premises designated in their casino licences.

The guidelines read that the casino operators or casino owners who applied for casino licences from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and are fulfilling the required conditions to renew the 2022 licence will be issued a certificate of legality to continue their casino businesses for the year 2022.

Those who receive certificates can only operate under the strict control and supervision of the CGMC, the guideline said.

“The casino operators or owners have to display the original licences or the certificate of legality in a visible place in their business locations. In cases where they use a copy of the licence or the certificate at another location, it will be deemed fraudulent and they will face legal action,” it said.

The casino operators or owners have to pay taxes on the proceeds of all kinds of games operating within the casino premises and their other obligations in full and on time under the laws and regulations in force.

Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng have both made public calls and issued orders to crack down on illegal gambling and online illegal gambling because the issue was tied to other serious offences in Cambodia such as money laundering and human trafficking.