Fears are escalating across Southeast Asia that illegal gambling groups are shifting their focus away from Cambodia amid the government’s crackdown on scam centres.
Thai outlet The Nation reported that 106 Thai nationals were arrested in Laos under suspicion of being involved in call-centre scams and online gambling operations based in the Bolikhamxay region of the country
Earlier this month, authorities in Sri Lanka also revealed they had arrested over 1,000 foreign nationals for cybercrime in 2026, a stark increase compared to previous years.
Officials in Sri Lanka said that most of the foreign nationals arrested were from China, Vietnam and India, and attributed the rise to a crackdown on such activity in the hotspots of Cambodia and Myanmar, leading the criminals to look elsewhere to house their operations.
Cambodia has been repeatedly criticised for its lack of action against scam centres linked to the country’s casinos, which have reportedly defrauded victims of billions of dollars.
In light of the pressure, the Cambodian government passed its first cybercrime law dedicated to targeting the perpetrators of online scams.
Those convicted of being part of the targeted operations will face between two and five years in prison and fines up to $125,000. Meanwhile, sentences for scams conducted by gangs or against many victims can extend up to 10 years.
According to the Cambodian China Times, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Sokha told the Swiss Ambassador to Cambodia Pedro Zwhalen that the country’s crackdown has led to the arrest, deportation or voluntary departure of over 300,000 foreign nationals linked to online fraud.
91 casinos were also shut down last month by the country’s gaming regulator after being accused of supporting online fraud networks.
The move came in the days after China’s Foreign Minister, Wang YI, demanded tougher action on cross-border gambling, describing the issue as one of public safety.
While Cambodia’s actions have been welcomed by many, concerns will begin to rise once more if the illegal activity has simply shifted location rather than being curtailed.
Authorities in Laos said that they took action after they received intelligence that groups had brought equipment into the country to operate call centres and online gambling websites.
The Thai nationals have been returned to their home country, and officials said that they would be screened to determine whether they had been victims of human trafficking, a hallmark of the region’s scam centres.
