{"id":777036063,"date":"2025-12-15T08:44:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777036063"},"modified":"2026-04-21T15:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:59:13","slug":"malaysia-court-of-appeal-rejects-kedahs-bid-to-block-renewal-of-gaming-licences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/malaysia-court-of-appeal-rejects-kedahs-bid-to-block-renewal-of-gaming-licences","title":{"rendered":"Malaysian court rejects Kedah\u2019s bid to block renewal of gaming licences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Judges have ruled that the state overstepped its powers, reaffirming federal authority over pool betting and lottery regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Malaysia.- The Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by the Kedah state government to reinstate its decision not to renew business premises licences for pool betting and lottery operators. In a 2\u20131 majority ruling, the court found that the move was unconstitutional and encroached on federal powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case stems from Kedah\u2019s decision to stop renewing licences from January 1 2023, effectively shutting down pool betting and lottery outlets in the state. Justices Faizah Jamaludin and Lim Hock Leng ruled that the non-renewal policy lacked a legal basis and that pool betting and lottery licensing fall under the authority of the federal Ministry of Finance, which issues and regulates licences under the Pool Betting Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, the state\u2019s action had the effect of overriding the finance minister\u2019s powers and imposing a blanket ban. Justice Faizah said this created a direct conflict between state and federal authority. No costs were awarded<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Indonesia e-pay platform OVO blocks 7,000 gambling-linked wallets<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judges have ruled that the state overstepped its powers, reaffirming federal authority over pool betting and lottery regulation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777027987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Malaysian Court of Appeal has overturned the Kedah state government's decision to cease renewing business premises licences for pool betting and lottery operators. The ruling reaffirms federal authority, specifically the Ministry of Finance, over the regulation and licensing of these gaming verticals, deeming the state's action unconstitutional and an overreach of its powers. This decision prevents a blanket ban imposed by the state, ensuring continued federal oversight of the sector.","focusai_entities":"Kedah state government, Court of Appeal, Faizah Jamaludin, Lim Hock Leng, Ministry of Finance","focusai_location":"Malaysia, Kedah","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Federal vs. State Powers","query":"What are the broader implications of this ruling for the balance of federal and state regulatory powers across other gaming verticals or economic sectors within Malaysia?"},{"label":"Operator Licensing Impact","query":"How will this reaffirmation of federal authority streamline or complicate the B2B\/B2C licensing process for new entrants or existing operators seeking to expand their pool betting and lottery offerings in Malaysia?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,16333],"tags":[4503,23703,226],"class_list":["post-777036063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-legal","tag-licence","tag-malaysia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777036063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777036063"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777036063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777036070,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777036063\/revisions\/777036070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777027987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777036063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777036063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777036063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}