'Ethically, I don’t think (allowing) it is good because you are encouraging and giving the public more access to gambling,' he said. So unless the (act of) gambling is based in (physical) establishments, it will not be feasible to regulate. 'When you allow online gambling, anyone can set up a site and collect money from people. It will be difficult for the authorities to keep track and block (all of) them,' he said.įong added that many online gambling sites had their servers hosted abroad, making it harder to identify the owners.įong also believes legalising online gambling could lead to other social issues. They can notify their users about the new sites that can pop up quickly. 'They will (just change) their domain name once their servers have been blocked. However, according to LGMS Berhad chairman and cybersecurity consultant CF Fong, even doing that is difficult. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar operations, however, it is easy for online gambling providers and users to mask their identity online.įurthermore, regulation of such sites is difficult as all the authorities can do is block offending sites.

Syariah law bans all forms of gambling among Muslims in the country.

In 2020, the punishment for both illegal gamblers and gambling operators was increased 20-fold, from RM5,000 to RM100,000 and a minimum jail sentence of six months. The CGHA defines gaming as 'the playing of any game of chance or of mixed chance and skill for money or money's worth'. The CGHA (with further amendments) is more inclusive than the Betting Act in its coverage of types of gambling. The Betting Act is a broad-based one that bans all forms of gambling unless the company has a legal licence to operate and covers telecommunications and other means of transmitting bets between customers and betting houses.Īs per this Act, anyone caught running a betting house or caught in one will be penalised with a RM200,000 fine and five years in jail. Online gambling is illegal under the current Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 (CGHA), the Betting Act 1953 (although the Act does not explicitly cover it) as well as Syariah Law. Is gambling on online casinos and betting sites illegal?

ONLINE gambling is almost commonplace and ads for such activities can be seen in dodgy websites, spam email as well as unsolicited SMS and WhatsApp messages.

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