Unless they are looking for you for other reasons it's very unlikely they will arrest or even fine individual players. They have other problems and interests. Very likely they investigate the Chinese syndicates only as much as they are demanded from China too.
Also Cambo (and also TH) popo are not the CIA, they have limited means and working morale. PS prolly doesn't even have a license or anything in Cambo (as mentioned it's banned), if they are threatened with something they will just stop accepting players and that's it. That's how they were operating in large parts of the world for along time. They were sitting in Costa Rica, Isle of Man and a couple of other places and pretended to have never heard of the local gambling laws, or pretended this would not apply to them since they were elsewhere.
When the politicians finally caught up to them, they tried to strike deals and influence the legislation in their favor, if not successful they just left. Rarely did someone go to prison. Unlike the US, most countries do not claim extrajudicial jurisdiction, so their means are limited naturally, also probably online poker was much bigger in the US than in most other countries. Some countries went forcefully against the likes of Uber or AirBNB since that was threatening locals businesses.
Never go up against local businesses BTW, that's the surest way to get into trouble in EA/SEA and much of the rest of the world. But online poker, just not worth the effort for the most part, esp in a country like Cambo, that's a tiny market and mostly foreigners.
SR is mixed. Tourist town, more foreigners with money, everyday stuff tends to be more expensive than in PP. Many tourist traps. Angkor Wat is the biggest tourist trap, haha, 40$ entry for a couple ruins. Maybe somewhat impressive if you realize some peeps have built this 1k years ago in the middle of a remote jungle. But I haven't been to SR in quite some time. I heard on accommodation you can still get great deals. Be aware SR has two parts, the tourist part and the locals part. The tourist part is generally cleaner than PP, I guess you could say that, but the locals part probably worse. The two parts are clearly separated in the middle of the town by a park. But last I was there was in 2019. I heard they also did some developments on the other side, I need to visit actually just to see.
They have their pub street and surrounds and some nightlife options but it generally tends to be quieter than PP, yes. It's up to individual preferences, I would try both. I recommend PP, bigger city and more where it's at, SR is more like a holiday town, you can go there on vacation or something, but after a while it will usually get boring. But it's up to individual preferences.

Really appreciate you taking time of day to write these well thought replies. Feels like I just got crash course in economics/politics. Regarding SR or PP, as you said one probably needs to experience both to decide.

fwiw, speaking as a short term tourist: i loved visiting angkor wat and strongly recommend anyone to visit it, if you're in cambodia.

besides that: i didn't find SR too appealing (contrary to PP, which i loved).

just to give my 2 cents.

woah wtf, you guys think angkor wat is overrated, traveled the world, been everywhere, that was one of the most impressive places i've ever been to

Are you sure about Cambodia being banned? I contacted their support and they told me that Pokerstars works in Cambodia.

Angkor Wat is one of the best places I've been to.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed Angkor Wat it's prolly a me problem. I've seen a lot of castles, churches, temples and whatnot, hell, I'm from a region where I saw a lot of castle ruins even as a teenager. So that didn't excite me too much. If you have something unique and pretty, like the Sagrada Familia or whatever, just as an example, I'm all for it, but that, well, whatever, I wasn't that excited about it, that's all I can say. As I mentioned the beauty is prolly the historical context.
Sylvester, I tried to explain to you in some detail why whatever a poker site is offering to you isn't necessarily a good indicator of whether something is legal or not but it seem you can't or don't want to understand. I have nothing more to say. Anyways, good luck on the grind.

I think you misunderstood my reply. I wasn't questioning the legality, as all gambling sites are illegal. I was questioning whether PS specifically still accepted Cambo players, because not all sites do. Anyways good luck 2u2.

https://www.pokerstars.com/prohibited-jurisdictions/

GGpoker no problem as well if you use the Asian flagship skin of the GGNetwork, Natural8

Yea man u can play pretty much all sites np.

I did it 2018 to 2023 no issues. Only i think party poker is banned...but there are work arounds.

Ahh so that's why I never saw anyone from South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands playing on PS

If only I could access these sites/links, then I wouldn't need 3rd-party sites for info.

I think Ipoker network doesn't accept either. Any regrets, advice or funny stories you willing to share?

Pr sure u can play ipoker too.

This is interesting. Some of Ipoker sites allow like Netbet, while others allow poker but restricts other gambling. But Bet365 and Betsafe don't allow anything, including poker, according to their terms of use.

This guy lives in Phnom Penh, streams since long time ago, plays on GG and ACR, maybe other sites as well.
https://gyazo.com/c3b544c4d755072cd04d11664a383482

Edit:
Looks like on stars as well, since he has results graph posted for stars
Edit:
Asked him on stream, he said he would be back on PS very soon

I have seen youtuber Gingepoker he lives or used to live in Thailand, he played online-poker from Thailand.

Been reading online about peoples experiences with Visas if anyone has experience with Class E Visa and wants to chime in. Most info online just recommends getting E visa on arrival. but I prefer to get it online to be on safe side. Don't want to travel 15+ hours and risk rejection, even if it's a small risk, or interrogated, etc. On the gov site it asks about supporting documents like invitation letter, investment plan, hotel booking (pdf), plane ticket in & out (pdf) etc. If I apply without submitting those will the application get rejected?

Just get a visa on arrival, why would you get rejected?

I think your obsession with rules and regulations and your concerns might clash harshly with how things work in SEA and you might have a rough time navigating that part of the World, just chill the **** down and you'll be fine.

Yeah, this is what I was thinking. Like damn, this guy if stressing about every little thing, SEA is not the place for him. But then on the other hand maybe it will be good for him to come here and he'll learn mai pen rai so didn't want to discourage him.
Syl,
I used to micro manage all of my travel beforehand and found the research enjoyable so I can relate. It's nice to have a lot of knowledge before you touch down in a new place but things change when you get on the ground but as long as you don't have drugs on you, are not a pedo or don't get into a confrontation with a local you're not going to run into any big issues. It's pretty much the beauty of the place. As long as you don't **** with anyone, no one is going to hassle you.
Plenty of people play online poker here for decades. There are a ton of people that have stayed here for years with no long term visa, it's doable. Worst case scenario, you buy $100 airplane ticket to a neighboring country to sort out how to return to your country of choice. It's kind of part of the fun. Keep doing your research but everything will work out when you get here. Just don't cling to the 1st bar girl you ****.

Hes gonna wife up the 1st bar girl...100%.

Came here for info... got roasted instead. You know what it's probably for the better. I needed to get roasted.

That's not roasted but yes, you probably do.

What can u expect from the PLO scene in Phnom Penh nowdays?
The 5/5 runs daily? Any 10/20+?

Its a funny dynamic where bigger game is better.

1/3 sux, nitregfest
5/5 is ok
5/10/25 is the best, all players you want to play vs are here