Cambodia’s casino sector is undergoing a new round of licence reviews and regulatory tightening. Whether a casino can resume or continue operating depends on its licence review and compliance with regulatory requirements. The timing of licence renewals around 2027 alone does not establish whether a casino may reopen.
According to selected translated comments from a September 16, 2026 speech published by Cambodia’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit, Prime Minister Hun Manet called for higher investment and infrastructure requirements for casinos and referred to an investment scale of around US$100 million. He noted that some casinos had previously operated on a small scale, even in rows of shophouses, and said adequate infrastructure should be required. These comments concern the direction of regulation; they do not establish that all existing casinos are already subject to a uniform minimum investment of US$100 million. The precise threshold and its scope of application must be determined by the relevant authorities’ documents.
Hun Manet also said the government was reassessing the operations of more than 100 casinos nationwide, considering whether that number was necessary and seeking to develop a larger-scale, more regulated casino sector.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has continued to tighten oversight of the gambling sector. Previously, 18 casinos linked to online scams had their licences revoked, while another nine had their operations suspended. The government has also suspended online gambling activities in casinos as part of efforts to combat online gambling, online scams and related unlawful activities.
In its 2026 Article IV consultation staff report on Cambodia, the International Monetary Fund expected most existing casino licences to be renewed around 2027 and recommended using that opportunity to strengthen scrutiny of licensees. This is a staff expectation about licence renewals, not a government timetable for a general reopening of casinos.
