Malaysia: 7 arrested for illegal online gambling

Officers in the state of Selangor dismantled an illegal online gambling ring in a raid at a luxury condominium.

Malaysia.- The Selangor State Police have carried out a raid at a luxury apartment and arrested seven men for allegedly operating an illegal gambling ring.

According to the New Straits Times, Zuhairee Mohamad Rashid, the chief deputy superintendent of the Anti-Violence, Gambling and Secret Society Department at the Selangor Police said those arrested are aged between 20 to 30 years old and were promoting online gambling. During the raid, police seized mobile phones, computers, laptops and a modem.

The investigation found that the group allegedly used a website to organise, manage and promote online gambling activities. They also used WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat apps to promote online gambling. Several accounts suspected to be mule accounts were used to place bets and transfer money to local customers.

The establishment had been in operation for a year and locals were employed as gambling operators with a monthly salary of between RM2,000 and RM2,500.

Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan, director of the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department, has said that police conducted a total of 17,382 raids involving 25,643 arrests between January and the end of October. Police have seized more than RM$8m in cash and over 18,000 computers, mobile phones and laptops.

Hassan said the most common illegal activity was public lottery houses operating without licences. A total of 5,561 raids were carried out related to this activity. Some 6,321 raids were related to online gambling, 535 to betting, 407 to indoor gambling, 294 to outdoor gambling and 264 targetted illegal call centres.

Malaysia to review gaming laws

The Home Ministry of Malaysia is working with the Ministry of Finance to update current gambling laws in the country in line with changes introduced in gambling syndicates and online gambling. The revision also seeks to strengthen measures against illegal gambling activities.

Seri Ismail Mohamed Said, Malaysia’s deputy home minister, said in a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat: “Another step taken is conducting continuous operations and raids to disable these activities.”

He also revealed the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) are working with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to block gambling websites.