Is Prostitution Legal in Cambodia?

Cambodia's main law is the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, signed on 15 February 2008. It targets everything around prostitution rather than the act itself. Soliciting in public carries one to six days in jail and a fine of 3,000 to 10,000 riel (Article 24). Procuring someone for prostitution carries two to five years in prison (Article 26). So does managing or financing a brothel (Article 30), an owner tolerating prostitution on the premises (Article 31), or renting out a place knowing it will be used for it (Article 32).

What the law leaves out matters too. Human Rights Watch notes that the 2008 law 'does not criminalize clients of adult sex workers'. The government's own implementation guidelines that year said 'prostitution is not a crime' (Human Rights Watch, 2010). That's why we call Cambodia a grey area rather than legal: nearly every way of organising it is a crime.

Bars, beer gardens, KTVs and massage shops are ordinary licensed businesses. Under the Law on Tourism, the Ministry of Tourism licenses entertainment and adult entertainment centres (Article 30). Running one without a licence brings a fine of 2 to 20 million riel (Article 65). Phnom Penh's riverside hostess bars fall into this category.

The line is sex on the premises. A venue owner who 'accepts or tolerates' prostitution or soliciting there faces two to five years in prison, and courts can order the business closed (2008 law, Articles 31 and 48). The US State Department reports police patrols at guesthouses, massage parlours and karaoke bars where trafficking is suspected (2026 Trafficking in Persons report).

The same law applies to everyone, and foreigners carry extra risk. A court can ban a convicted foreigner from entering or living in Cambodia for up to five years, or for good, with expulsion at the end of any jail term (Criminal Code, Article 67). The Law on Tourism also lets authorities cancel the visa of a tourist who takes part in activities 'in relation to... child trafficking and sexual exploitation/prostitution'. That tourist can be expelled and banned for up to five years or permanently (Articles 50 and 68).

Immigration is busy. Cambodia deported more than 45,000 people in the first half of 2026, mostly in its scam-centre crackdown, and those deportees are barred from returning (Phnom Penh Post via Asia News Network). The UK government also warns that police often raid venues popular with foreigners and may drug-test people there (UK travel advice).

The age of consent in Cambodia is 15, and sex with anyone younger carries five to ten years in prison (2008 law, Article 42). For anything paid, the line is 18. Paying a 15- to 17-year-old for sex carries two to five years, and paying a child under 15 carries seven to 15 years (Articles 7 and 34). The Law on Tourism keeps minors out of adult entertainment venues and requires managers to check young customers' ID cards (Articles 56 and 57). Foreigners are prosecuted here too. In June 2026 a US teacher was jailed for ten years for sexually exploiting boys, and he will be deported after serving his sentence (Cambodianess).

Cambodia is rated Tier 3, the lowest grade, in the US State Department's 2026 Trafficking in Persons report. The report flags child exploitation in the tourism industry. Signs worth acting on: a child in a bar, someone who can't leave, or someone working off a debt. The Ministry of Social Affairs lists the free 24-hour Child Helpline on 1280 (MoSVY). The general police number is 117 (UK travel advice).