According to a senior police officer, the authorities have clamped down on 231 illegal gambling company operations, detaining 606 people, including six women, whose cases have been sent to court.
Lieutenant General Chhay Kim Khoeun, a spokesman for the National Police, stated that “from September 15 to December 27, the police force has clamped down on unlawful gaming throughout the country.”
The appropriate authorities are still working to track down those who participate in unlawful gaming. The police will encourage the operators to stop operating, but if they do not heed their instructions, they will be detained and will face legal repercussions.
The amount of this illicit activity has decreased. According to Lt Gen Kim Khoeun, police are still actively pursuing places and putting an end to unlawful gaming crimes.
“I see cases of illicit gambling have dropped after the crackdowns across the country,” said Heng Kimhong, the head of the Cambodian Youth Network Association’s research and advocacy program, yesterday.
Kimhong continued, “Local authorities must not relax and take prompt action to ban illicit gambling sites in their localities, even though there haven’t been as many arrests for illegal gambling crimes as there were in the past.”
Following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s directive to outlaw unlawful gambling in the Kingdom, the crackdown began on September 15.
Sar Kheng, the minister of the interior, has also urged for the continuing eradication of all criminal activity throughout the nation, stressing that transnational crimes including drug trafficking and unlawful online gambling have recently found a home in the Kingdom.
Early in September, Mr. Hun Sen issued a strong directive to eradicate the “anarchic” illegal gaming problem nationwide and threatened officials who disobeyed him with dire repercussions.
He pointed out that illicit gambling did not boost the country’s economy but rather caused those who have gambling addictions to sell off their possessions in order to pay off their debts, which resulted in them losing their jobs and homes.
