Background
Xa Mat Casino is located on National Road 72 in Trapeang Phlong, Tboung Khmum Province, close to the Vietnam border crossing. This relatively short stretch of road is home to several major online scam compounds, most of which have emerged relatively recently. This includes Grand Golden Casino, Rongxingdi Resort World, and Site TK05 (profiled here, here, and here). Xa Mat Casino was raided in July 2025, and hundreds of people were detained. According to a report by Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, as of March 2025, the facilities hosted 600 permanent residents.
Incidents
The raid on Xa Mat Casino occurred during a short-lived crackdown targeting online scam operations across the country in July 2025. In what the pro-government media outlet Fresh News called a raid on an ‘online crime den’, 350 Vietnamese and 98 Cambodian nationals were detained, and equipment was seized.
Images of the raid show police, court officials, and local authorities inspecting buildings at the rear of the casino.
On 15 August, Cambodian authorities deported 353 Vietnamese citizens and handed them to Vietnam authorities at the Xa Mat border crossing. It is assumed that this group included people arrested in the Xa Mat Casino raid. Of this group, 339 had exited Vietnam with valid passports, but when deported only 253 still had them in their possession.
A further 31 Vietnamese nationals were deported at the same crossing two days later. Under questioning by Vietnamese police, they reportedly admitted to working at Xa Mat Casino.
In May 2025, Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment found Xa Mat Casino to be illegally polluting public waterways.
Which Actors and Companies Have Been Linked to Xa Mat Casino?
The license for Xa Mat Casino is held by the company Pailin Trapaing Plong Co., Ltd. Since 2023, the company has been chaired by Filipino Alphy Rubio Palencia. Until March 2022 the chair of the company was Cambodian Sok Heng, who is currently the director of the company that holds the casino license for the Heng Heng I Casino in Kratie. This property was also raided during the July crackdown (see profile here).
Location of Xa Mat Casino
Xa Mat Casino in the News
2025
17 August: Thiện Nhân & Hồng Thắm, ‘Công an Lâm Đồng tiếp nhận 31 công dân từ Campuchia [Lam Dong Police Receive 31 Citizens from Cambodia],’ Báo Lâm Đồng Điện Tử [Lam Dong Online News]. Link in Vietnamese. Link in English.
15 August: ‘Cambodia Hands Over 353 Citizens to Vietnam’, Saigon News. Link.
19 July: ‘កម្លាំងគណៈបញ្ជាការឯកភាពខេត្តត្បូងឃ្មុំ បើកប្រតិបត្តិការបង្ក្រាបទីតាំងឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មអនឡាញ នៅកាស៉ីណូជិតច្រកត្រពាំងផ្លុង ចាប់ខ្លួនមនុស្ស៤៤៥នាក់ [Tbong Khmum Provincial Unified Command Forces Launch Operation to Crack Down on Online Crime at Casino Near Trapeang Phlong Checkpoint, Arresting 445 People]’, Fresh News. Link.
19 July: ‘In Pictures: 448 Arrested in Major Raid on Casino Scam Centre’, Khmer Times. Link.
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