Cambodia

Star Gold Casino & Hotel

Star Gold is a licensed casino but also rents online office space. The company that owns the casino is a major property developer with several other projects in the vicinity where space is also leased to online operators.

Published 10 Jun, 2025 | Updated 8 Aug, 2025

Other Names:

ស្តារហ្គោល កាស៊ីណូ និងសណ្ឋាគារ
Location:

Poipet City, Banteay Meanchey Province
Country:

Cambodia

Background

Star Gold Casino & Hotel is a licensed casino that also rents office space for online operations. Posts on Poipet Facebook property pages and Telegram channels advertise office space on the premises. Several posts are in Indonesian and Thai (a large number of Indonesian and Thai online operators are known to be based in Poipet).

Photos included in online property ads show large rooms available for rent. Some promise ‘100% safety’, some state that the property has Thai internet. Parts of the property are blocked by barriers that require a keycard to enter, a common feature in casinos where online office space is located in areas off limits to regular customers.

Ad for office rental at Star Gold Casino, January 2025. Source: Facebook (now offline).

Ad for office rental at Star Gold Casino, July 2025. Source: Facebook property page.

Images from ad for office rental at Star Gold Casino, January 2025. Source: Facebook property page.

Images from ad for office rental at Star Gold Casino, February 2025. Source: Facebook property page.

Images from ad for office rental at Star Gold Casino, July 2025. Source: Facebook property page.

Star Gold has a large property portfolio, with developments stretching north of the casino at various stages of development.

Posts can be found advertising online space for rent at other Star Gold properties, including the four- and six-story shophouse style properties adjacent to the casino, known as SG1 and Star Gold Village.

Ads in Bahasa Indonesian for ‘office online’ at various Star Gold properties, December 2021. Source: Facebook property page.

Ad in Bahasa Indonesian for ‘office online’ at Star Gold property, December 2021. Source: Facebook property page.

Ad for online office rental at SG1, March 2022. Source: Facebook property page.

Star Gold’s logo appeared on the banner of the (now offline) Facebook page for Office Poipet, which advertised online office space for rent in the city. It appeared alongside the logos of other properties that are involved in online activities. Posts on the Office Poipet page explicitly targeted ‘online’ renters, and offered direct internet access (DIA), which involves private connection that is not shared with other customers and provides enhanced reliability and security.

Office Poipet Facebook profile, September 2021. Source: Facebook (now offline).

Which Actors and Companies Have Been Linked to Star Gold Casino & Hotel?

Four Star Plus Four Co., Ltd. was granted a casino licence for Star Gold Casino in December 2022. The company is chaired by Cambodian national Pha Huon and has seven other directors, all from Cambodia.

Pha Huon with Prime Minister Hun Manet, April 2023. Source: Facebook.

One of the Four Star Plus Four Co., Ltd. directors, Suong Sokheang, also holds a director position at Poipet Palace Plus Entertainment Co., Ltd. This company owns Poipet Palace Plus Casino, which also leases out space for online operations (see profile here).

Four Star Plus Four Co., Ltd. director Chhim Kunthea is also a director at another two companies at which Poipet Palace Plus Entertainment executives also hold positions. Chhim Kunthea was a Poipet City Council member until at least 2020, but we were unable to confirm if he still holds this position. Images available online indicate Chhim Kunthea held a senior position, and he has frequent interactions with senior government and military officials.

Chhim Kunthea with Prime Minister Hun Manet, April 2023. Source: Facebook.

Chhim Kunthea with Ke Kim Yan, former commander-in-chief of the Cambodian armed forces, May 2022. Source: Facebook.

Chhim Kunthea with now Deputy Prime Minister Chea Sophara, posted July 2018. Source: Facebook.

Chhim Kunthea standing behind Prime Minister Hun Manet and four-star General Keng Someth, deputy commissioner of national police and responsible for border affairs in two regions, including Banteay Meanchey, posted July 2018. Source: Facebook.

Chhim Kunthea with now Preah Sihanouk Provincial Governor, posted May 2020. Source: Facebook.

Eng Lihour stepped down from a director position at Four Star Plus Four Co., Ltd. in May 2025. Eng Lihour is a Brigadier General and Deputy Commissioner of the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Immigration Department.

Chhim Kunthea (left) and Eng Lihour (second from right) with Deputy Prime Minister Hun Many, brother of PM Hun Manet and chairman of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, November 2023. Source: Facebook.

Chhim Kunthea (left) and Eng Lihour (centre), May 2022. Source: Facebook.

Star Gold Chinese New Year celebration. Eng Lihour in blue jacket and Chhim Kunthea in black t-shirt, January 2025. Source: Facebook.

Another director, Chhun Chansopheak, was also previously a director at S.U.G. (Cambodia) Trading Co., Ltd. This company owns Sand Palace Casino, which also leases out space for online operations (see profile here).

There is no evidence indicating that Four Star Plus Four Co., Ltd. or individuals connected to the company are directly involved in online criminal activity, but there is ample evidence to indicate that space inside the property is at least being provided to those who are.