Malaysian officials are preparing for a clamp down on illegal online betting syndicates looking to cash in on world cup bets.
The final qualifying rounds of for next year's world cup, involving some of the world game's heavyweights will taking place in the coming weeks and betting syndicates in Malaysia are expecting big action.
France, Argentina, Denmark, Italy and Portugal are all set to play their final world cup qualifying games from Oct 10 to Oct 13. According to a report in the Malaysia Star, these games are expected to generate considerable interest from Malaysian punters...and authorities aren't too happy about it.
Sports betting in Malaysia is illegal pursuant to Malaysia's Betting Act 1953, which renders all 'common betting houses' and gambling activities illegal. The one exception is gambling in the giant Highlands Resort Casino who operate under the government's single gambling license. But illegal gambling syndicates are common in Malaysia - a country where residents have a renowned propensity to gamble but are generally starved of betting choices. And with growing internet access and a plethora of online betting options from around the world, authorities seem increasingly worried they may be losing the reigns on their resident's gambling choices.
Police have set up a special unit to monitor what they refer to as hi-tech gambling syndicates using the internet as a distribution mechanism (it seems they are unaware internet betting has been around for over 10 years now).
According to police spokesman, Datuk Ahmad Sofian Md Yassin, “syndicates are making it difficult for us to track them down as they are now accepting credit cards and using internet banking; or money is banked directly into a particular account.
For more details on Malaysian gambling regulations click here.
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