Malaysia: 13 arrested over alleged illegal online gambling

Police in Penang carried out two raids and uncovered a syndicate involved in promoting and operating online gambling activities.

Malaysia.- Police in Penang have uncovered an illegal syndicate that was carrying out online gambling activities and was generating profits of up to RM2.5m.

The police conducted two raids and arrested 13 people, four men and five women in the first raid, and four local men in the second. According to officers, the syndicate had been operating for a year, promoting various online games through WeChat and Facebook, targeting customers in Australia and Bangladesh, and generating up to RM1m a month.

The illegal gambling hub rented two locations, a regular-looking office and a luxury condominium, to run their illegal operations, which included using the condominium as a call centre.

The syndicate leader, a 32-year-old woman, recruited workers with salaries ranging from RM2,000 to RM6,000 per month, and the workers also received commissions for each successful promotion to customers outside the country.

During the raids, police seized computer equipment, 32 mobile phones, modems, notebooks, closed-circuit television cameras, and nine cars, all valued at over RM700,000.

Those arrested have no criminal records and are currently on remand to assist in the investigation. The case is being investigated under Sections 4(1)(c) and 4(1)(g) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.