This is part of a signalled intent to effectively ban the industry, which the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen confirmed back in August, when he instructed new licenses should not be issued and current ones should not be renewed.

The licenses expire at the end of this year. Any hope the measure would be delayed or quashed was firmly stamped out when Hun Sen spoke at the 8th Sea Festival in Kampot province.

Hun Sen said: "I ask you: are construction projects in Cambodia for online gambling? If it were only meant to cater to online gambling and the economy depended on it, there is a danger of money laundering.

"We should not allow this. So, in days to come, online gambling will completely disappear.

"So what do you really want? To me, if Cambodia’s economy continues to rely on online gambling, Cambodia’s national security will be compromised. We’ll be under the threat of organised crime groups who will come to Cambodia to carry out their activities.

"We’ll also find ourselves in a situation in which Cambodia becomes a haven for money laundering as a result of online gambling."