National Police chief Neth Savoeun has ordered the Central Security Department to hunt down operators of online gambling sites and bring them to justice.
At the same time, officials from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications are attempting to block six online gambling websites that surfaced over the weekend.
The National Police and the Central Security Department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, blocked six websites – www.v89bet.com, www.ibc2888.com, www.sbc369.net, www.asb365.com, www.a28bet.com and www.afb1188.com – for conducting illegal games online.
Savoeun ordered the department to search for the sources behind the games.
The government issued a circular over the weekend banning all kinds of online gambling sites it said benefit money launderers, the mafia and terrorists. Most of the game operators are Chinese, according to the police.
National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun said on Sunday that most of the online gambling operations had ringleaders abroad and networks in the country. When authorities find the networks, it will release the information, Khoeun said.
“If there was no network in the country, it would not be possible to conduct the business, ” he said.
Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) spokesman Im Vutha said online gambling websites had been run abroad, but he was unsure which country was the source. The Central Security Department requested that the ministry block the sites in Cambodia.
“We block them gradually but we don’t block them completely. We have no right to block the websites because they are foreign websites,” Vutha said.
Digital Security Consultant Nget Mose said even though the government blocked online gambling websites in Cambodia, some gamblers in the country might still have ways to access them.
“The websites have not been run in our country, but gamblers in our country want to access the websites so they use certain tools or software to gain access to the websites from our country,” Mose said.
He said it is difficult for the government to block online gambling completely and it takes a long investigation for the websites to be blocked completely.
Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian told Minister of Interior Sar Kheng at a June 22 meeting that since last year the two countries have cooperated to combat online gambling.
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