Southeast Asian countries are moving against their lucrative online gambling industries as Beijing clamps down on a practice that has ballooned due to demand from its own citizens.

Weeks after China lashed out at the Philippines for encouraging offshore gambling – which it said targets Chinese customers and causes the illegal outflow of hundreds of millions of yuan – the Philippine gaming regulator said on Monday it would stop accepting applications for new online gaming operations at least until the end of the year, to review concerns about the burgeoning sector.

Separately, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday that Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered a stop to new licences for online gambling operations.