Malaysian police gathering cyber intelligence to combar illegal betting
News on 21 Apr 2014
News on 21 Apr 2014
Online sportsbetting operators targeting the Malaysian punter will have to tread carefully during the FIFA World Cup football spectacular in June this year – the Malaysian police are making extensive preparations to combat the upsurge with even more vigour than usual.
Police Federal Secret Societies, Gambling and Vice Division principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Roslee Chik told The Star that an extensive police cyber monitoring and intelligence gathering initiative is underway and that illegal players and operators alike can expect intense police activity.
He claimed that during the last World Cup four years ago, the total bets placed locally amounted to almost half a billion ringgit, and Malaysian police in 2010 had arrested 227 people, including syndicate members and people who placed bets.
“We raided 270 premises throughout the country for about a month and seized RM110,124 in cash. The syndicates were believed to have collected RM 419.2 million in bets directly and via online transactions,” he said.
Police are working closely with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to identify illegal gaming facilities and websites, and were additionally sharing information with law enforcement agencies in other countries,” he said.
In the period leading up to the World Cup the police would intensify their anti-online gambling activity in a continuation of an operation codenamed Soga. The operation had first been initiated in 2012 to combat illegal gambling in the Euro 2012 football tournament, Chik revealed, noting that during that competition Malaysian police had arrested 100 people.
In related news, the New Straits Times reports that police in Alor Star city in the Kedah province were active over the weekend, uncovering an online gambling operation whilst investigating illegal lodging offenders.
During the raid 13 men were caught red-handed taking part in an online gambling activity. Police seized 19 desktop computers and other evidence during the raid.
