Table of Contents
Malaysia has a thriving gambling scene despite its strict betting regulations. Since the country is home to many Muslims, only the minority like the Chinese and expats enjoy gambling. Still, it is enough for gambling syndicates to exploit. Reports also showed that some Malaysian locals fall victim to illegal gambling rings.
How Do Gambling Syndicates Operate in Malaysia?
Gambling syndicates know that the weakness of Malaysian gamblers is the lack of variety when it comes to gambling. True, most of them can bet in Casino de Genting, however, they crave for more variety. Gambling operators know and understand that in order for them to have more gamblers betting is to provide variety. This is why they offer online gambling.
Online gambling allows Malaysian locals, Chinese, and expats to place a wager without having to make the trip to Genting Highlands to enjoy an hour of casino games. Muslims never have to renounce their religion to place a wager. Online gambling allows Malaysians to enjoy what they love doing with so much ease but so much risk.
These gambling syndicates often run a call centre-like operations that target customers from China through WeChat, a popular social media platform in China which is equivalent to Facebook. The illegal casino operators deal with up to 1.5 million Malaysian Ringgits in bets.
Some gambling rings operating in Malaysia would manipulate their customers to jack up their profits by planting members of their syndicate in the games to dominate online gambling thereby attracting more players to their website.
Gambling syndicates will guide their clients and players on how to fund their account to buy credits to play casino games using their website. The operators use both local and Chinese bank accounts to receive payments. The same bank accounts are used to pay out winnings. Payments of gambler’s earnings are commonly coursed through WeChat and/or WhatsApp.
Who Are the Gambling Syndicates Operating in Malaysia?
Most of the illegal gambling operators in Malaysia are Chinese nationals who target Chinese locals and expats living in the country. Some Indonesians are also involved in illegal operations. In a raid conducted by the local law enforcement, they seized computers, laptops, mobile phones, and routers that they use to conduct their illegal operations.
Interestingly, these syndicates also victimise gamblers from their home country. They just do most of their operations whilst living in Malaysia because of the lax authority and enforcement. Some of the syndicates receive aid from Malaysian locals to look for places they can rent and operate their illegal business.
In an effort to mask their operations, some of these operators will make headquarters in luxurious homes. This is quite easy for them to acquire since the country has lots of luxury homes specifically for foreign nationals who choose to live in Malaysia. They will work with a Malaysian national who will arrange the rent and provide their daily meals.
What Are The Malaysian Local Authority Doing to Stop Gambling Syndicates in the Country?
The local Malaysian police are doing more investigative and surveillance work on online gambling. In the past months, they busted several gambling syndicates already operating in the country. In terms of stopping them even before they operate, is still a question. At present, they are still looking for more suspects to facilitate investigations. The police vow to go all out against online gambling.
A number of locals think that the only for Malaysia to curb illegal gambling is to provide the locals with more variety in terms of casino games. Many of the gamblers living in Malaysia often resort to dealing with suspicious online casinos simply because they do not have any other options. They often take the risk in order to enjoy some form of casino entertainment.
True, Casino de Genting offers several casino games for gamblers to enjoy but many of them are outdated. Malaysians look for casino game innovations to help them spend their idle time. The locals are constantly looking for different betting games they can test their luck on.
What Are The Operations of the Gambling Syndicates in Malaysia?
Aside from online casinos, Malaysia’s big problem in terms of illegal gambling is the numbers forecast operators. The illegal counterpart of this industry is said to be worth double of the legal ones. This is the reason why illegal number forecast operators are the target of the Malaysian government’s crackdown.
Will the Malaysian Government Relax Their Gambling Laws?
The Malaysian government is seriously looking at intensifying the crackdown on illegal gamblers as its legal gambling continued to improve its financial performance. One example of this is the numbers forecast operators who enjoy a huge surge in their finances following raids on their illegal counterparts. Part of the crackdown involved the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, Ministry of Finance, Bank Negara Malaysia and the local enforcement. These agencies communicated with authorized gambling operators based in several parts of Malaysia to discuss the ways on how they can curb the growing industry of illegal gambling in the country.
Part of the discussion included changing some of the gaming laws of the country. Since the country still follows the Pool Betting Act 1967, Lotteries Act 1952, Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, and Betting Act 1953, there indeed an urgent need to update and change the laws in accordance with the current gambling operation landscape present in the country.
Aside from relaxing their gambling laws, the government is also looking at imposing stricter penalties, not only for illegal operators but also for gamblers who take part in illegal gambling activities. Gamblers, under the new regulation, can also pay fines and face prison time.
How Can Expats Legally Gamble in Malaysia?
Expats, provided they are not Muslims, can enter and play casino games in Casino de Genting. They can also engage in online sports betting provided they use international bookies that offer Asian odds or Malaysian odds. Expats must make sure, however, that the website they are accessing has an international gaming licence because these are the ones that are beyond the Malaysian government’s jurisdiction.
Never ever engage in illegal operators in Malaysia. Always transact with an online casino that has a strong and reliable track record of operations. Remember, online casinos have risks involved. Since their offices are often not disclosed, it can be quite hard to get hold of them in case trouble happens. So always do due diligence and research first.
Malaysia, in the past years, has become an interesting target for gambling syndicates because it is easy to lure locals to help them. Locals who do not have a steady source of income are often the ones who help out gambling syndicates set up their operation. However, the tightening of local authorities and improved way of living in Malaysia have somehow lessened this incidence.
What are your thoughts about Malaysia and its gambling laws? Should they amend it or should they keep it the same? Let us know in the comments!
