More than 7,000 Cambodians have lost their jobs and dozens of casinos have been shuttered since a ban on online gambling in August, with more losses expected when the government begins inspections this week, officials said on Tuesday.
The southern coastal city of Sihanoukville has emerged as a center for gambling and many of the dozens of Chinese-run casinos that have sprung up there have online gambling operations.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said this week that he would make the online gambling ban permanent after first announcing a halt in August, saying that the industry had been used by foreign criminals to extort money.