The cost of illegal online gambling in Malaysia
News on 4 Dec 2014
News on 4 Dec 2014
The Asian state of Malaysia is now notorious for its persistent and vigorously enforced crackdown on illegal internet gambling, and the police in just one province – Selangor – this week gave a glimpse of the costs operators risk in supplying what is clearly a huge player demand for their services.
In the eleven months so far in 2014, police in this one province alone have carried out thousands of raids and seized 68,251 computer sets from illegal operators in Operation Dadu, the codename for the massive clampdown.
Selangor police chief Datuk Abdul Samah Mat told local reporters this week that 3,703 people which were believed to be frontmen for illegal online gambling together with 446 gamblers had been arrested during the widespread raids.
“The syndicates are now becoming more wiser by operating their illegal activities from apartment units or in a residential areas to avoid detection,” the police chief said, adding that many have turned to mobile technology to enable them to keep moving to avoid detection by the police or being reported by neighbours.
“Checks have shown that the illegal operators call their regular customers from former locations to new bases where they consider themselves at less risk of being raided,” he said.
“They are becoming increasingly desperate and use this type of method in the hope that the police will not sniff out their activities.”
Since October 26 this year, when the national police Inspector General ordered a surge in police anti-online gambling activity, Selangor police raiding parties have hammered over 2,000 online gambling venues, arrested 76 individuals and confiscated 982 computer sets.
Where they find premises habitually being used to host online gambling activity, the Malaysian police can request the local utility company to cut off power supplies to stop a recurrence.
The police are currently working on a submission to national government proposing anti-online gambling specific legislation and enhanced police powers.
