Part V: Regional & Cultural · Asia-Pacific Regional Terms

Sihanoukville (Cambodia)

Cambodia — Regional GamingREPORTED

Sihanoukville (also known as Preah Sihanouk) is a coastal city in Cambodia that experienced a massive casino building boom driven by Chinese investment, primarily targeting mainland Chinese online gamblers through offshore gaming operations. At its peak, the city had dozens of casinos and was a hub for POGO-style operations. In response to pressure from China, Cambodia banned all online gambling in 2019, leading to the departure of most Chinese operators and a collapse in Sihanoukville’s casino-driven economy. The episode serves as a cautionary tale about unregulated gaming development.

In practice

Sihanoukville’s boom and bust cycle exemplifies the risks of rapid, unregulated casino development driven by a single market segment. The city has been attempting to pivot to other forms of tourism and development since the gambling ban.

One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary, 1,090 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.